ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team utilized a well-rounded performance to post its second home win of the season on Friday night, when the Lions defeated non-conference opponent Albion College 81-75 in Adler Arena.

Visiting Albion (1-5), of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, held a 43-40 lead at halftime after shooting 66.7 percent from the field during the opening period. But Penn State Altoona (3-5) turned in a strong defensive effort in the second half, when the Lions outscored the Britons 41-32 to come back and secure the win.

"I'm very proud of this team, as it's a huge win for our program for a number of reasons. One is that it's important to start getting momentum as we get closer to our conference season, so getting this win will hopefully propel us as we finish this semester," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "The second reason is that Albion is a really good team from a really good league, and after competing with teams from some top conferences this year, it felt good to finally get a win against one."

Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) led Penn State Altoona in scoring with 18 points while also securing six rebounds. Saivon Word (Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglass) finished with 17 points and a game-high five assists, and Mason Bush (Pittsburgh, PA/Seneca Valley) and Robbie Hicks (Rockledge, FL/Rockledge) added 14 points apiece.

Jarrett Gardner (Live Oak, FL/Suwannee) scored nine points, grabbed six rebounds, and blocked two shots, and Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) had a team-high eight boards and a game-high three blocks to go along with six points. Alex McClellan (York, PA/West York) tied for the game-high in steals with three.

Albion's Fred Garland led all scorers with 27 points, while Ken Thomas contributed 17 points and 12 rebounds. Beck Willems chipped in 10 points for the Britons.

"Just a real balanced effort from everybody that played. To have four guys in double figures really shows that, when we do share the ball, we have a lot of weapons and people who can put the ball in the basket," said McGreal. "I also believe that we finally played a lot better defensively in the second half. We locked down Thomas in the second half, holding him to six points after he had 11 in the first half."

Albion found success from the field throughout the first half, during which the Britons made 18 of their 27 shot attempts, including four three-pointers.

Two early layups from Thomas and a basket by Garland helped Albion work its way out to a 6-2 lead by 18:38. Penn State Altoona worked its way back and eventually tied the game 16-16 on a Gardner layup, but a 6-0 run by the Britons helped the visitors to a 22-17 advantage near the midpoint of the half.

The Lions pushed back again, tying the score on Bush's layup at 7:01 and going ahead 28-26 after a pair of free throws by Jones. A Bush three-pointer and Word layup put Penn State Altoona up by three, 33-30, with 5:09 to play in the period. But Albion responded with another run, outscoring the Lions 8-0 through the 1:50 mark to grab a 38-33 lead. Later, Word's layup and Harman's foul shots cut into the Albion advantage, but the Britons went into the intermission ahead 43-40.

Albion continued its hot shooting early in the second half, increasing its lead to as many as eight points. Jonathan Armstead-Wilkerson's three-pointer at 15:14 gave the visitors a 52-44 lead, and AJ Barden's layup at 14:36 kept the difference at eight, 54-46.

But Penn State Altoona whittled away at its deficit over the next several minutes. Hicks' layup and foul shot at 12:30 cut the Albion lead to three, and his steal and fastbreak basket 24 seconds later made it a one-point game, 55-54. Baskets from Bush and Word put the Lions in front, 58-57, with 10:44 to go.

Albion kept pace with Penn State Altoona over the next four minutes, until the Lions began to maintain a more consistent lead by limiting the Britons' scoring. Two layups by Gardner put Penn State Altoona up 68-64 by 5:14, and Harman's bucket at 2:03 extended his team's lead to six, 74-68. Late foul shots from Hicks and Word kept the advantage at six points, and Word's dunk with 10 seconds to play but an exclamation mark on the victory for Penn State Altoona.

"We were able to do something we've struggled with this year by playing a complete second half," said McGreal. "As we continue, especially going into conference play, being able to finish the second half is obviously going to put us in a better position to be successful."

Next up, Penn State Altoona men's basketball will pause its regular season schedule to compete against Division II opponent Indiana University of Pennsylvania in an exhibition game this Sunday, December 11 at 4:00 p.m. The Lions will resume regular action in their next game, when they travel east to face non-conference opponent York College on Tuesday, December 20 at 6:00 p.m.

"Just want to remind everybody that Sunday is an exhibition game, and we get back to work on December 20 at York to hopefully continue our momentum," said McGreal.