ALFRED, N.Y. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team used a strong defensive effort to get past Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Alfred State College on Saturday afternoon, when the Lions picked up their eighth consecutive win and ninth conference victory in a 96-64 defeat of the Pioneers in the Orvis Gymnasium.

Penn State Altoona (13-7, 9-1 AMCC) shrugged off a slow start to the game to construct a nine-point halftime lead, then put 62 points on the scoreboard during a second half in which the Lions led by as many as 37 points.

Despite another high-scoring performance, Penn State Altoona's win was keyed by its defense, which held Alfred State (6-15, 2-8 AMCC) to 64 points, a 33.8 percent field goal percentage, and an 18.9 percent three-point percentage while creating 20 Pioneer turnovers.

"Very proud of this group and how we were able to regroup after Alfred State came out and punched us in the face," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "The success of this team is that we don't rely on just one or two guys, and when our starters came out flat, it was our second group that got us back rolling and able to get the lead by halftime."

The Lions' Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) led all scorers with a season-high 23 points on a 9-for-12 performance from the floor and a 5-for-5 showing at the foul line. He also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to notch his fifth double-double of the season while contributing three steals and two assists. PJ Charles (Altoona, PA/Altoona) added 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals, and he shot 9-for-14 from the field.

Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) finished with 14 points – helped by a 4-for-5 effort from three-point range – to go along with six rebounds and three assists. Saivon Word (Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglass) totaled 12 points after shooting 5-for-9 from the floor and 2-for-3 from the free throw line, and he dished out a team-best five assists while bagging two steals.

Paris Jamison led Alfred State in scoring with 19 points while securing seven rebounds. Cody Schneider finished with 12 points and a team-high eight boards for the Pioneers, and Isaiah Kostyal-Larrier added 10 points.

Alfred State held Penn State Altoona scoreless for the opening 17:18 of the first half, during which the Pioneers put nine points on the board on a pair of Schneider layups, a Jamison layup, and a Schneider three-pointer. Baskets by Kostyal-Larrier and Schneider kept the home team's advantage at nine, 13-4, by the 15:41 mark.

Penn State Altoona awoke to go on an 11-2 run, capped by Jones' basket and foul shot at 9:04 that knotted the score, 15-15. Charles' layup at 7:31 gave the Lions their first lead of the game, 19-17, and buckets from Jones, Charles, and Word over the next two minutes extended their team's lead to 25-20. A pair of Harman three-pointers helped boost Penn State Altoona's advantage to 32-23 with 1:43 remaining in the period, and another Charles layup got the Lions' total to 34 points. Alfred State got a layup from Jamison with under a minute left in the half, and the teams went into the locker room with Penn State Altoona holding a 34-25 advantage.

Alfred State hung around early in the second half, when a Kostyal-Larrier three-pointer and Stone Siverling layup kept the Pioneers within seven, 40-33, at 17:27. But Penn State Altoona responded with an 8-0 run to increase its lead to 15 points, 48-33.

After that, Penn State Altoona expanded the point differential over the rest of the game. Jones' layup at 13:10 put the Lions' lead over 20 points, 59-38, and his dunk at 8:47 got it over 30, 73-42. A Jarrett Gardner (Live Oak, FL/Suwannee) layup at 2:39 gave Penn State Altoona its largest lead of the day, 92-55.

"The second half was a different story. The starters came out and dominated from the first possession, and we started to lock down more with defense, which is how we built the big lead," said McGreal.

The Lions had a big impact in the paint, outscoring Alfred State 60-34. Penn State Altoona also outscored the Pioneers 26-9 in points off turnovers, 14-4 in fastbreak points, and 43-13 in bench points. The Lions' team total of 25 assists is tied for the 10th-most in a game in program history.

Next up, Penn State Altoona will return home for three straight important AMCC games, starting with a matchup against Pitt-Greensburg this Wednesday, February 8 at 7:00 p.m.

"Great performances all around," said McGreal. "Now we have to get ready for a three-game home stretch that just may decide the regular season championship. Go Lions!"