Men’s Basketball Snaps Home Skid, Powers Past Mounties 87-67
ALTOONA, Pa. – In front of a packed Adler Arena crowd on Wednesday night, the Penn State Altoona men's basketball team picked up its first home win since January 8 with an 87-67 victory over nearby Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Mount Aloysius College.
After having lost their past three home games, Penn State Altoona (13-5, 8-2 AMCC) got back on track with a convincing win over their local rivals. The Lions built a first half lead, then held Mount Aloysius (3-14, 1-8) to just 28 second half points on a 30.3 shooting percentage in the period.
"Really excited to get back in the win column at home after playing some good teams in Adler the last few games," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "Just like most teams, we caught Mount shorthanded due to various injuries and other ailments. Luckily, we were able to control the tempo from the tip and keep pressure on them for 40 minutes, especially in the second half."
PJ Charles (Altoona, PA/Altoona) and KeJahn Rainey (Woodbridge, VA/Potomac) each tied for the team-high in points for Penn State Altoona, with both players going 6-for-8 from the floor and totaling 15 points. Charles also grabbed eight rebounds, while Rainey secured five boards.
Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) contributed 11 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and a block, and Saivon Word (Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglass) returned to action to provide 11 points.
Mount Aloysius got a game-high 18 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks from Dwayne Jones. Mike Harris scored 17, and Wesley Ayers added 12 points for the Mounties.
"Our game plan was to run them, press them, and wear them down because of their lack of depth. It finally hit them midway through the second half," said McGreal. "Great job by freshman KeJahn Rainey, in his second start ever, to come out and set the tone. The rest of the team followed."
Penn State Altoona got out to a 6-0 lead early in the game, thanks to two free throws and a layup by Charles, as well as a layup from Alex McClellan (York, PA/West York). Layups from Harman, Charles, and Rainey extended the Lions' advantage to 14-2 by 15:09. Mount Aloysius awoke to narrow the gap to two points, 18-16, by the 11-minute mark. After Penn State Altoona responded by constructing a double-digit lead, the Mounties surged back again to make it a two-point game, 41-39, with 26 seconds left in the half. But a late layup from Charles and two Mason Bush (Pittsburgh, PA/Seneca Valley) free throws boosted the Lions' lead to 45-39 by halftime.
Penn State Altoona took command of the game in the second half, outscoring Mount Aloysius 42-28 in the period and leading by as many as 28. Harman's fastbreak dunk two-and-a-half minutes into the second half highlighted an early run by the Lions, and Word's three-pointer at 13:11 put Penn State Altoona up by 12, 59-47. Word's layup at 10:16 increased the home team's advantage to 20, 69-49, and the Lions never looked back.
The Lions finished with lopsided scoring advantages over Mount Aloysius in second chance points (23-14), fastbreak points (26-4), and bench points (29-4). Penn State Altoona also posted a 51-36 advantage in rebounds over the Mounties, and the Lions outscored the visitors 48-36 in the paint.
Next, Penn State Altoona will prepare to hit the road for its next game, when the Lions travel to face AMCC opponent Pitt-Bradford this Saturday, January 29 at 4:00 p.m.
