BRADFORD, Pa. – In its final game of the 2022-23 regular season on Saturday afternoon at KOA Arena, the Penn State Altoona men's basketball team earned an 80-76 victory over Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Pitt-Bradford.

Penn State Altoona (16-8, 12-2 AMCC) trailed by four points at halftime, but the Lions were able to get past Pitt-Bradford (11-14, 5-9 AMCC) by outscoring the Panthers 40-32 during the second half.

"Very happy to leave Bradford with a win. We did not play our best game by far, but we gutted out a win basically by turning up our defensive intensity in the second half," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "Bradford came out ready and played really well, and we were flat for 30 minutes still thinking about Wednesday. But our seniors and upperclassmen got us back in the right frame of mind, and we made enough plays down the stretch to secure the win."

Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) led Penn State Altoona in scoring with 19 points to go along with eight rebounds, four steals, and two blocks. PJ Charles (Altoona, PA/Altoona) recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and a team-high 11 rebounds while also dishing out a team-best four assists.

Saivon Word (Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglass) added 12 points and three assists for the Lions, and Alex McClellan (York, PA/West York) brought 10 points and three helpers off the bench.

Pitt-Bradford got 19 points from Lennon Lindholm, 14 points and 12 rebounds from Nathan Schneider, and 13 points and 10 boards from Gavyn Mason.

Penn State Altoona started the game on an 8-0 run, following a Charles jump shot and three-pointers by Mason Bush (Pittsburgh, PA/Seneca Valley) and Robbie Hicks (Melbourne, FL/Rockledge). Pitt-Bradford came back to tie the game, however, and eventually grabbed a 15-14 lead at the 13:29 mark on Lindholm's three-pointer.

The teams traded baskets for much of the first half, with neither squad leading by more than four points. With the score knotted at 40 in the closing moments of the period, Pitt-Bradford used baskets from Jeremy Rodriguez and Mason to go ahead 44-40 by halftime.

The Panthers started the second half on a 7-2 run, capped by Lindholm's three-pointer at 16:55 that increased the home team's advantage to nine points, 51-42. Penn State Altoona chipped away at its deficit, but the Lions were unable to get over the hump until the late stages of the second half, when Word's basket at 4:36 put Penn State Altoona ahead 68-67. Two minutes later, another jumper from Word put his team up 71-67, and Harman's bucket at 1:09 made it 74-69. McClellan, Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown), and Harman scored baskets within the final 36 seconds of the game to help preserve Penn State Altoona's lead.

The win clinches Penn State Altoona men's basketball's best-ever conference win percentage, as the Lions finish the regular season with a .857 win percentage within the AMCC by prevailing in 12 of 14 contests against league opponents.

With the regular season now behind it, the Penn State Altoona men's basketball team will turn its focus to the AMCC postseason tournament. As the second seed in the tournament, the Lions have a first-round bye and will start their quest for a conference title on Friday, February 24 at 2:30 p.m., when the team will face the winner of Tuesday's matchup between third seed Hilbert College and sixth seed Pitt-Bradford at La Roche University.

"So happy with our regular season, finishing with our best conference record ever, percentage-wise," said McGreal. "But our goal is still in front of us. Two more wins to finish our business and get to the NCAA tourney."