GREENSBURG, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team survived a furious second-half rally by Pitt-Greensburg on Wednesday night to prevail 79-75 in an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference matchup in Chambers Hall Gymnasium.

Penn State Altoona (6-7, 2-1 AMCC) led by as many as 24 points during the second half, but Pitt-Greensburg (5-9, 1-2 AMCC) outscored the Lions 38-15 over a 13-minute span to make it a one-point game with just under five minutes to play. Penn State Altoona managed to hold a narrow lead the rest of the way, and the Lions escaped with their second conference win of the season.

"Well, a win is a win, and I'm just glad we escaped with a big road win. Give credit to Coach [Chris] Klimchock and Pitt-Greensburg for never giving up and giving us all we could handle," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "We played 30 minutes of great basketball, then seven minutes of horrible basketball, but we made enough plays down the stretch to come away with a conference road win, which is always hard to come by."

Robbie Hicks (Melbourne, FL/Rockledge) led Penn State Altoona in scoring by providing 19 points off the bench on an 8-for-12 shooting performance from the field, and he also tied for the team-high in rebounds with five. Mason Bush (Pittsburgh, PA/Seneca Valley) and Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) added 16 points apiece, with Harman also securing five rebounds.

Alex McClellan (York, PA/West York) scored a season-best 14 points, which included a 4-for-4 showing from three-point range. Saivon Word (Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglass) chipped in eight points and a game-high six assists.

Pitt-Greensburg's JoJo France led all scorers with 27 points, and Matthew Marinchak finished with 20 points for the Bobcats.

Penn State Altoona started the game on a 6-0 run, following a Bush layup, Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) free throw, and McClellan three-pointer. Two more McClellan treys extended the Lions' lead to 14-5 by the 15:42 mark, and after Pitt-Greensburg closed the gap to three points, a Hicks layup at 9:59 got the advantage back to nine, 23-14. Hicks connected from beyond the arc at 8:05, and two Harman layups and a foul shot gave Penn State Altoona a 17-point lead, 34-17, with 5:05 remaining in the half. Hicks made two layups within the final minute of the period, and the Lions took a 43-29 advantage into the intermission.

Penn State Altoona kept its momentum rolling early in the second half, when the Lions scored the first 10 points of the period. Bush's layup and two Harman foul shots gave their team an 18-point lead, and baskets from Word and Bush on consecutive possessions made the difference 22 points. Two Word free throws at 17:53 gave Penn State Altoona its largest lead of the night, 53-29.

Pitt-Greensburg began to chip away at its deficit, however. A France layup at 12:38 got the Penn State Altoona lead under 20 points, 58-39, and back-to-back three-pointers from France and William Butler later made it a 10-point game, 65-55, by the 7:49 mark. Another France three-pointer and foul shot at 6:51 cut the Lions' lead to 65-61, and two France free throws at 6:18 made it 65-63. Marinchak connected on a three-pointer at 4:41 to bring the Bobcats within one, 68-67.

McClellan helped Penn State Altoona respond, making a layup and a three-pointer to put the Lions up by four, 73-69, with 3:12 on the clock. Buckets by Hicks and Harman gave the visitors a little more breathing room, 77-71, but two France layups made it a one-possession game again, 77-75, with 50 seconds remaining.

But Pitt-Greensburg was unable to hit a potential go-ahead shot in the closing seconds, and Harman tacked two more foul shots on to his team's total, as the Lions got out with a win.

Penn State Altoona will now return home for the first of two straight AMCC games in Adler Arena, when the Lions will host conference opponent Pitt-Bradford this Saturday, January 14 at 2:00 p.m.

"Now, we get back-to-back home games for the first time this entire season," said McGreal. "Hopefully, we can keep the momentum rolling."