Offense Stars for Lions in Seventh Straight Win
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team reeled off its seventh consecutive win and eighth Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference victory on Wednesday night, when the Lions powered past nearby conference rival Mount Aloysius College 116-93 in the ACW Center.
For the second straight game, Penn State Altoona (12-7, 8-1 AMCC) was propelled by its offense, which followed up Saturday's 129-point, team-record performance by putting 116 points on the board against Mount Aloysius (4-16, 0-9 AMCC) on Wednesday. The Lions' total of 116 points ranks as the third-most in a game in program history.
Additionally, Wednesday night's point total marks the first time that the Penn State Altoona men's basketball team has ever put together back-to-back team scoring performances of 100 or more points.
The Lions also finished the evening with the third-most assists (30) and seventh-most field goals made (43) in a game in team history.
"Excited to get our first sweep of the year against our rivals from the mountain. We are really rolling right now offensively and are playing very unselfish basketball. We have had 59 assists combined in the past two games, and every coach would love to see that," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "Now, we have to get back to basics and be more assertive on the defensive end. We gave up way too many points in the paint, and that's something we talked about coming into this game."
Saivon Word (Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglass) tied his Lions career-high by scoring 23 points to lead all Penn State Altoona scorers, and he also dished out six assists to tie for the team-high. Word shot 8-for-11 from the field and 6-for-6 from the foul line. Jahmar White (Yigo, Guam/St. Paul Christian School) contributed 17 points and four assists off the bench, going 6-for-10 from the field.
PJ Charles (Altoona, PA/Altoona) and Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) finished with 15 points apiece. Charles tied for the team lead in rebounds with eight, and he made 7-of-13 attempts from the floor. Jones secured five rebounds and nabbed three steals while going 7-for-8 in shot attempts.
Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) added 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Alex McClellan (York, PA/West York) came off the bench to provide 10 points on a 4-for-7 shooting performance, and he tied for the team-high in assists with six while grabbing five rebounds.
Mount Aloysius' Trent Ramirez-Keller led all players in the game with 26 points. Joel Lonigro scored 18 points for the Mounties, and Ebone Junior finished with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Penn State Altoona put 66 points on the board during the first half and constructed a 23-point advantage by the intermission.
A three-pointer from Mason Bush (Pittsburgh, PA/Seneca Valley) helped the Lions to their first double-digit lead of the night, 19-9, just under eight minutes into the game. White totaled eight points over three straight possessions to increase Penn State Altoona's lead to 15, 27-12, and a Jones layup at 6:27 boosted the visitors' advantage to 21 points, 42-21. McClellan connected from three-point range with 54 seconds left in the period to make it 65-41, and a Harman free throw with 22 seconds to go gave the Lions a 25-point lead, 66-41.
Penn State Altoona tacked 50 more points on to its total during the second half. Bush's trey at 17:06 gave the Lions a 74-47 advantage, and Jones' dunk at 11:55 made it 93-63. White's layup and foul shot at the 9:20 mark gave Penn State Altoona its largest lead of the night, 100-68.
Penn State Altoona finished the game with scoring advantages over Mount Aloysius in fastbreak points (46-17) and bench points (50-31) while outshooting the Mounties 53.1 percent to 44.6 percent in field goal percentage.
Now, Penn State Altoona will prepare for another conference road game before an important stretch of three straight AMCC games at home. The Lions will hit the road to New York state this Saturday, February 4 to take on Alfred State College at 2:00 p.m.
"All and all, can't be upset with tonight's effort and result," said McGreal. "Now we have to get ready for an improved Alfred State team at their place Saturday."
