ALTOONA, Pa. – After five straight games on the road, the Penn State Altoona men's basketball team made its return to the Adler Arena on Saturday afternoon, when the Lions battled for a 74-63 victory over Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Penn State Behrend.

In addition to being a strong conference win, the game featured a pair of significant storylines for the Lions (9-4, 5-4 AMCC).

The victory is just the fourth time that the Penn State Altoona men's basketball program has defeated Penn State Behrend, since the Lions entered the NCAA Division III and the AMCC in the 1997-98 season. Today's outcome marks the first win over Behrend since January 14, 2017, an overtime classic that was capped by former Lion Javon Wilson's game-winning, half-court three-pointer at the buzzer.

Saturday's game also included a record-setting performance by senior center Cameron Gardner-Nicholson (Philadelphia, PA/Boys' Latin Charter). Entering the contest needing four rebounds to become the Penn State Altoona men's basketball program's all-time leading rebounder, Gardner-Nicholson secured nine boards during the game to surpass the previous record of 621, which was held by former Lion forward Jordan Smith (2013-17). Gardner-Nicholson now holds down the top spot on the men's basketball program's all-time rebounds list with 627 career boards.

"What an amazing day for our program today. A hard-fought, gritty win against an opponent who has had our number for a long time, and big Cam etching his name in the all-time records again," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "I am so proud of how we battled all game."

Jack Kusters (Quakertown, PA/Lansdale Catholic) scored a game-high 17 points for Penn State Altoona, and he added five rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) earned his fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with three steals and three blocks.

Gardner-Nicholson scored 14 points alongside his nine-rebound effort, and he also blocked a team-best four shots. Austin Krise (Allport, PA/West Branch) contributed 13 points and three rebounds.

"Jack continues to lead us offensively, and Druw and Cam dominated the boards again," said McGreal. "And I can't say enough about how well Austin has been playing of late. He had a great game."

Behrend (10-5, 7-3 AMCC) got 14 points and four steals from Kenny Fukon, while Mitchell King scored 12 points and dished out four assists.

After Behrend worked its way out to a 10-7 lead by the 14:44 mark of the first half, Penn State Altoona charged back with an 8-0 run to leap ahead. Harman's layup and Kusters' three-pointer put the Lions up, and Krise's trey at 12:09 gave the home team a 15-10 lead. Penn State Altoona got three baskets in a row from Kusters later in the half to extend its lead to 27-19 with 2:56 remaining in the period.

Behrend tightened things up after three-pointers from Dorian Connors and King, and Penn State Altoona went into halftime clinging to a four-point lead, 29-25.

The Lions came out strong in the second half. Two layups and a foul shot from Gardner-Nicholson boosted his team's advantage to 34-25 a minute and a half into the period. Baskets from Kusters and Krise made it a 10-point game, 38-28, by 16:49.

Behrend did not let the score differential get out of hand, however, and the visitors continued chipping away at the Lions' lead. Connors' three-pointer at 13:59 made it a four-point game, 42-38. Fukon's three-pointer and Devin Pope's three-point play narrowed Penn State Altoona's lead to one, 49-48, by 8:40. PJ Gourley's bucket and free throw at 5:37 tied the score 57-57, and Derrick Clark's jumper kept the score knotted, 59-59, at 4:55.

But Penn State Altoona regrouped and took control of the game, outscoring Behrend 15-4 the rest of the way.

Gardner-Nicholson's layup and back-to-back buckets from Robbie Hicks (Rockledge, FL/Rockledge) gave the Lions a 65-59 lead by 3:38, and one minute later, Harman's layup made it 67-59. Harman, Hicks, Alex McClellan (York, PA/West York), and Bryan Acosta (Orlando, FL/Wekiva) combined to sink seven free throws over the remaining 1:10 of the game, as Penn State Altoona put its important victory on ice.

"Even when they made a run in the second half to tie the game, we buckled down and finished like we were supposed to by getting stops on defense and converting on offense – especially at the free throw line," said McGreal.

Penn State Altoona outrebounded Behrend 43-27, and the Lions also held a 14-3 advantage in second chance points and led 36-20 in points in the paint.

Next up, the Lions return to the road this Monday, January 20, traveling to play AMCC opponent Alfred State College in game starting at 6:00 p.m.

"We can't rest, as we have a quick turnaround to go play Alfred State on Monday," McGreal stated. "This win is awesome, but if we don't take care of business Monday, it's all for naught. We've got to keep getting better."