ALTOONA, Pa. – After securing a spot in the 2020 AMCC post-season tournament, Hilbert was in a must-win situation today in order to host a First Round game as the #4 seed in men's basketball tournament. 

But the Hawks lost that chance after Penn State Altoona rolled to a 97-74 Senior Day victory in the Alder Center.

THE BASICS              

• Final Score:  Penn State Altoona 97   | Hilbert 74
• Location: Alder Center, Altoona, Pa 
• Records: Hilbert 15-10 (11-9 AMCC) | Penn State Altoona 15-10 (11-9)

HIGHLIGHTS

Senior G Hunter Martineau and freshman F Jon Evans posted 13 points each.  Those two combined for a 50-percent shooting performance, but it was freshman G Zach Miller who sank 3-of-4 from the floor, to finish the day hitting better than 50-percent.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Altoona took flight right from the tip.
• They took a 2-point lead within the first minute of the game and extended it to a 17-point advantage (31-16) by 11:33.
• The Lions defense stifled Hilbert in the first 15 minutes collecting eight team blocked shots.
• Cameron Gardner-Nicholson, Altoona's All-Time Blocked Shot leader, challenged the Hawks every trip down the floor defensively, and, if he didn't touch the ball in flight, he altered Hilbert's shooting touch in the paint.
• Zachary Miller sliced the margin to 10 points off a traditional 3-point play at 8:20 and Jon Evans finished a Joseph-Braniecki steal positioning Hilbert in another 10-point spread.
• But each time the Hawks pulled close, the Lions drilled deep shots which stretched their lead back to mid-double digits by intermission.
• The Lions connected on 50-percent of their field goal attempts and made five 3-pointers after 20 minutes.
• Hilbert wasn't as confident in the paint, shot 37.8-percent from the floor but sank 2-of-5 from beyond the arc.
• The Lions, who held a 9-1 blocked shot advantage, built a 15-6 margin in fast break points, all generated off of their defensive stops in the lane in the first half.
• Hunter Martineau connected with Evans early in the second half, but the royal and white were just trading hoops with the hosts after intermission.
• Just as they did in the first half, when the Hawks worked on trimming the margin towards single digits, Altoona drilled a deep shot breaking any momentum.
• With the win, Penn State Altoona forced a two-way tie with Hilbert at 11-9, and held the tie-breaker, which knocked the Hawks out of hosting a First Round Play-Off game February 25th.

GAME NOTES

• Martineau met his season average with seven assists as the Hawks converted 37.1-percent of their field goal attempts by the final horn.
• The Lions maintained their focus on offense and closed the game hitting 40-of-80 field goal attempts. 
• Altoona built a 10-rebound advantage, outscored the Hawks by 11 points in points-off-turnovers and finished with an 18-point margin in points in the paint.
• Sophomore F Jacob Braniecki tossed in nine points and shared team-high rebounding honors with Lazar Jovanovich (8 points) and Masia Phillips (8 points) with six rebounds.
• The Lions' Cameron Gardner-Nicholson posted a high double-double with 26 points and 19 rebounds and it appeared as if he was on his way to a triple double, but he cooled in the second half to only six blocked shots.

WHAT'S NEXT

Hilbert is set for their ninth appearance in the last ten years of the AMCC postseason tournament.  They will, as the #5 seed return to Alder Center to face #4 seed Penn State Altoona Tuesday, February 25.  

#1 La Roche University will host the Championship weekend February 28 and 29. 

#2 Pitt-Greensburg advances to the weekend semifinals and will play the winner of the #3 Penn State Behrend vs #6 Mount Aloysius while either PS Altoona or Hilbert will advance to Friday's semifinal game against the Redhawks at 12:00 pm.

Be sure to stay up-to-date on all your Hilbert Hawk scores and awards by following @HilbertAthletic on Twitter and by liking the "Hilbert College Athletics" Facebook page.  Additionally, fans of the Hawks who have an Apple device can receive push notification from the Hilbert College Hawks iOS SIDEARM mobile App which can be found in the Apple Store and ITunes.