CRESSON, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team fought past Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference rival Mount Aloysius College for its eighth win of the season on Wednesday night, when the Lions earned a hard-fought 84-81 victory in the Athletic Convocation and Wellness Center.

Matchups between the two nearby conference rivals have featured plenty of drama throughout their head-to-head history, and Wednesday's game was no exception. After Penn State Altoona (8-1, 4-0 AMCC) ran up a double-digit lead midway through the game, Mount Aloysius (2-7, 0-2 AMCC) raced back to tie the score late. But Andruw Harman's (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) put-back basket with 3.2 seconds remaining broke an 81-81 tie and propelled the Lions to victory.

The win is Penn State Altoona's eighth in its first nine games of the season, and it also represents a 4-0 start to AMCC play for the Lions.

"What an amazing finish to a heck of a battle between two close rivals. Mount's record is not indicative of how good they are. The last three games, they finally got their whole team back and are playing good basketball," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "They are a tough matchup, and they showed that tonight."

Harman led Penn State Altoona in scoring with 19 points – including the go-ahead basket – tied for the team lead in rebounds with eight, and also recorded a game-high six steals, tying for the seventh-most steals in a game in Lions history. Robbie Hicks (Rockledge, FL/Rockledge) added 18 points for Penn State Altoona.

Y'shua Bragg (Pittsburgh, PA/Carrick) scored a season-high 11 points while tying for the team-high in rebounds with eight. Casey Parkins (Laurel, MD/Atholton) came off the bench to provide a season-high 12 points, and Saivon Word (Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglass) added 10 points off the bench.

"Can't say enough about this team's resilience, and it really showed through in our upperclassmen, as Druw was not going to let us lose that game and came up with the biggest play of the night," said McGreal. "Casey's scoring in the second half got us our double-digit lead back, and Saivon made timely plays on defense during that run."

Mount Aloysius' James Coronado and Dwayne Jones led all players in scoring with 20 points each. Carlos Palacio and Enoch Quarcoo scored 12 points apiece.

Penn State Altoona constructed a 52-40 lead by the conclusion of the first half. Hicks scored 16 of his 18 points during the period, while Bragg contributed all 11 of his points.

Harman's dunk a minute-and-a-half into the game helped Penn State Altoona to a 6-2 lead. After Mount Aloysius worked its way on top several minutes later, Parkins hit a three-pointer at 14:18 to put the Lions up 24-21, and Bragg connected from beyond the arc on the next possession to make it a six-point lead. Two free throws from Hicks at 7:45 kept the difference at six, 39-33, and his layup at 5:25 helped increase Penn State Altoona's advantage to ten points, 44-34. Scores late in the period by Harman and Hicks set the halftime score at 52-40.

Hicks' layup early in the second half gave Penn State Altoona what would be its largest lead of the game, 54-40. Mount Aloysius battled back, however, helped by a 57.1 percent second half shooting performance. Jones' layup at 15:37 brought the Mounties back to within one, 59-58.

Penn State Altoona boosted its lead back to double digits over the next several minutes, outscoring the Mounties 22-11 to hold a 12-point lead by the 8:23 mark. Back-to-back layups by Word and Parkins put the Lions' advantage at 81-69.

Mount Aloysius countered with a 12-0 run to tie the score 81-81 in the late stages of the second half. But Harman's put-back score with 3.2 seconds left on the clock got Penn State Altoona back in front, and he hit the ensuing foul shot to make it 84-81. The Lions forced a turnover on Mount Aloysius' last-ditch possession, and Penn State Altoona secured the road win at its conference rival.

"We almost let our second one slip away," said McGreal. "We have got to get better in our half court offense and be able to execute better down the stretch."

Penn State Altoona returns home for its next game, as the Lions will host AMCC opponent Pitt-Bradford this Saturday, December 11 at 4:00 p.m. in the Adler Arena. That game has been selected as the AMCC Men's Basketball Game of the Week.

"One more conference game before break, and we can end this stint of our schedule in really good shape," McGreal said. "Let's pack Adler Saturday!"