ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team started its 2022-23 season at home on Tuesday night, falling 85-84 to non-conference opponent Washington & Jefferson College in Adler Arena.

Penn State Altoona (0-1) worked its way back from a first-half deficit to establish a six-point advantage by halftime, and the Lions went on to lead by as many as 11 points during the second half. But 20 second-half turnovers by Penn State Altoona opened the door for W&J (1-0), and the Presidents rallied to take the lead midway through the period and hang on for the victory.

"Tough one tonight. Hats off to coach [Ethan] Stewart-Smith for coming back home and getting the win," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "Both teams played extremely tough and very fast. For whatever reason, the things we did successfully in the first half that got us out to a lead we decided to stop doing in the second half."

PJ Charles (Altoona, PA/Altoona) had a double-double for Penn State Altoona with a team-high 17 points and game-high 12 rebounds. Saivon Word (Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglass) added 15 points, six rebounds, and four steals. Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) totaled 14 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks, and Robbie Hicks (Rockledge, FL/Rockledge) scored 12 points to go along with six boards and four steals.

Alex McClellan (York, PA/West York) and Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) each scored eight points, with McClellan totaling six assists and Jones recording three blocks.

W&J got a game-high 29 points from Nick Gearhart, while Matt Seidl added 19 points and J.R. Mazza had 10 points.

After the teams exchanged the lead several times in the first portion of the opening half, W&J worked its way out to a 22-17 advantage by the 9:31 mark. Charles' layup cut Penn State Altoona's deficit to one, 22-21, with just under seven minutes remaining in the half, and Mason Bush (Pittsburgh, PA/Seneca Valley) tied the score 27-27 shortly thereafter.

Penn State Altoona surged late in the half to overcome a 37-33 W&J lead and go into the locker room with the advantage, as the Lions outscored the visitors 12-2 over the final two minutes. A layup from James Simples III (Philadelphia, PA/Lower Merion) tied the score 37-37, followed by Word's trey at 1:07 that put Penn State Altoona up by three. In the closing 44 seconds, Hicks connected on a three-pointer and Bush had a dunk to give the Lions a six-point lead and the momentum heading into the intermission.

Penn State Altoona expanded its lead early in the second half. Free throws by Harman, Word, and McClellan upped the Lions' advantage to nine, and Jones' layup at 14:35 gave Penn State Altoona its largest lead of the game, 53-42.

But a 13-2 run by W&J brought the Presidents even with the Lions, capped by Seidl's three-pointer that tied the score 55-55 at 12:48. Later, Gearhart's layup and foul shot and another Seidl three boosted the W&J lead to eight, 69-61, by 8:42. Kyran Mitchell's layup at 6:59 kept the difference at eight, 73-65.

Penn State Altoona cut into the W&J lead with free throws by Harman and Charles, and Hicks' jumper at 5:02 narrowed his team's deficit to two, 73-71. After the Presidents expanded their lead to seven, three balls from McClellan and Hicks brought the Lions back to within three, 80-77, with 2:17 to play. Harman connected from three-point range with 54 seconds remaining to make it a two-point game, 82-80.

W&J hit a big shot following a Penn State Altoona timeout, as Mazza's three-pointer with 47 seconds left got the Presidents' advantage back to five, 85-80. Four foul shots from Word brought Penn State Altoona within one, 85-84, but the Lions were unable to come up with the go-ahead basket on a late possession, and the Presidents escaped with the tight win.

"In the second half, there were too many mental breakdowns and too many people not doing their jobs, which led to 20 turnovers in the second half versus six in the first," said McGreal. "I think we learned a lot today about how important it is to stick with our system. We've got to be able to execute plays down the stretch when we're in these kinds of games. Tonight is one of the games we felt we needed to win, so we'll get back to the drawing board and try to get better."

Penn State Altoona men's basketball will now prepare for its first road contest of the season, as the Lions will travel to Lexington, Va. on Sunday, November 13 to take on non-conference opponent Washington and Lee University. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

"Our upperclassmen will have to play with more poise and be more under control, especially down the stretch, if we want to win close games against talented opponents," said McGreal.