Men’s Basketball Nabs First Win in TCNJ Consolation
EWING TWP., N.J. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team picked up its first victory of the season on Saturday afternoon, when the Lions defeated Pratt Institute 84-66 in the consolation game of The College of New Jersey Tipoff Tournament at Packer Hall.
Clinging to a two-point lead at halftime, Penn State Altoona (1-3) broke the game open with a big second half, during which the Lions scored 48 points, shot 59.4 percent from the field, and limited Pratt (1-5) to a 34.6 field goal percentage.
"It feels really good to get the monkey off our back and grab our first win of the year against a feisty team in Pratt," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "The first half wasn't exactly the way we wanted to play, and Pratt hit us with zone that kind of took us by surprise. But we finally figured out our second half woes we've had in the first three games, and after taking Pratt's best blow in the first half, we woke up and started playing Altoona basketball."
PJ Charles (Altoona, PA/Altoona) and Robbie Hicks (Rockledge, FL/Rockledge) tied for the game-high in points with 20, with the duo combining to score 27 of their 40 points during the second half. Charles also had nine rebounds, while Hicks had four steals.
Saivon Word (Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglass) added 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists. After the game, he was named to the TCNJ All-Tournament team after scoring 34 points across the Lions' two games this weekend.
Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) had a double-double with 10 rebounds and 10 assists, Mason Bush (Pittsburgh, PA/Seneca Valley) added 10 points, and Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) scored nine points.
Penn State Altoona opened the game on a 7-0 run, following a layup from Word, a three-pointer from Hicks, and a pair of Word foul shots. A dunk from Jones and basket from Word kept the Lions' lead at seven, 15-8, by the 11:21 mark, and Charles' basket and free throw at 9:47 put his team up by nine, 20-11.
A quick 6-0 run by Pratt closed the gap to 20-17, and the Cannoneers stayed close with Penn State Altoona for the remainder of the half, as the Lions went into halftime with a narrow 36-34 advantage.
But Penn State Altoona pulled away in the second half, outscoring Pratt 48-32 in the period.
The Lions opened the second half on a 9-0 run, capped by Word's jumper at 16:53 that gave Penn State Altoona its first double-digit lead of the day. Bush's layup at 13:03 put his team up by 20 points, 56-36, and the Lions established their largest lead of the game at the 5:01 mark on another layup from Word.
Penn State Altoona men's basketball will return home for its next game, as the Lions will welcome nearby regional non-conference opponent Juniata College to the Adler Arena for a matchup on Tuesday, November 22 at 7:00 p.m.
"Now, it's time to turn our attention to local rival Juniata and get ready for another tough test," said McGreal. "Hopefully getting back home and today's win will both help us keep this momentum going."
