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Men’s Basketball Rebounds for 94-73 Win at Greensburg

Men’s Basketball Rebounds for 94-73 Win at Greensburg

GREENSBURG, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team got back on track Wednesday night, posting a 94-73 victory over Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Pitt-Greensburg in the Chambers Hall Gym.

The win snaps Penn State Altoona's (12-4, 7-1 AMCC) brief, two-game skid, as the Lions used a balanced effort to finish with a 21-point win over Pitt-Greensburg (5-10, 3-3 AMCC). Offensively, the Lions shot 55.4 percent from the field while finishing with a big 52-24 advantage in points in the paint. On defense, Penn State Altoona limited Pitt-Greensburg to a 35.2 percent field goal percentage.

"Great bounce-back win tonight after a couple tough ones. Both us and Greensburg played shorthanded tonight, and we are just happy to get a huge road win in conference," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "It seems like, with everything going on, it's going to be a war of attrition down the stretch."

The Lions' PJ Charles (Altoona, PA/Altoona) led all scorers in the game with 22 points, his second-highest point total of the season, while grabbing six rebounds. Mason Bush (Pittsburgh, PA/Seneca Valley) recorded his first collegiate double-double coming off the bench, scoring 14 points to go along with a season-high 11 rebounds.

Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) totaled 16 points, seven rebounds, and a pair of blocks, and Casey Parkins (Laurel, MD/Atholton) scored 14 points, grabbed seven boards, and distributed a team-high four assists. Robbie Hicks (Rockledge, FL/Rockledge) added 11 points and two steals.

For Pitt-Greensburg, JoJo France led in scoring with 20 points, and Jaylen Williams contributed a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Lukas Swartz scored 14 points for the Bobcats, and Matt Johnson added 13 points.

Penn State Altoona withstood a barrage of three-pointers by Pitt-Greensburg in the first half to hold a 48-38 lead going into the locker room. The Bobcats connected on nine shots from beyond the arc, but the Lions took away their inside game to hold the home team to 38 first half points.

"I thought we played one of our better halves of basketball defensively in the first half," said McGreal. "We made them take tough shots and kept them out of the paint completely all night."

With the score tied 5-5 early, Harman's dunk and an Alex McClellan (York, PA/West York) three-pointer put Penn State Altoona up 10-5 just over three minutes into the game. Bush's basket and foul shot at 11:41 helped the Lions grow their lead to 19-12, and a pair of Harman buckets four minutes later had a hand in making it 28-17. Charles' layup at 7:03 gave Penn State Altoona a 10-point lead, 30-20.

Pitt-Greensburg stayed in the game during the first half thanks to some three-point success. Johnson's three ball at 6:35 cut the Bobcats' deficit to 32-26, and Swartz's trey 23 seconds later made it 34-29.  Micah Jones connected from three-point range at 3:19 to make it a four-point game, 39-35, but Penn State Altoona outscored the Bobcats 9-3 over the remainder of the half to reestablish its 10-point lead. Charles' layup with 36 seconds left in the period set the eventual halftime score, 48-38.

Penn State Altoona continued to take away the paint during the second half, and Pitt-Greensburg again leaned on the three-pointer. However, the Bobcats made just two of their 23 second half three-point attempts, allowing the Lions to expand their lead down the stretch.

The Lions opened the second half on an 8-0 run, using two Harman free throws, a Parkins layup, and two buckets from Charles to make it 56-38 by the 18:01 mark. Just under a minute later, another Parkins basket boosted Penn State Altoona's lead to 20 points, 60-40, and Harman's layup at 14:45 gave the Lions their largest lead of the night, 69-43.

Penn State Altoona maintained a strong lead the rest of the way, as Pitt-Greensburg got no closer than 19 points throughout the remainder of the game.

Next up, the Lions return home for a game against AMCC opponent Medaille College this Saturday, January 22 at 4:00 p.m. in Adler Arena.

"Now, we have to focus on Medaille, who comes here Saturday and is always a tough team to beat," said McGreal. "I'm really proud of this team's resiliency, but we have to keep moving forward. Go Lions!"