Men’s Basketball Drops Opener to No. 9 CNU
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team started its 2025-26 schedule against a nationally-ranked opponent on Friday night, when the Lions suffered an 86-67 loss to No. 9 Christopher Newport University in Adler Arena.
CNU (1-0) played its way to a 44-33 lead by the conclusion of a fast-paced first half, then put its foot on the gas in the second half, when the Captains led by as many as 29 points to deal Penn State Altoona (0-1) the season-opening loss.
"Hats off to a well-coached Christopher Newport team," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "Despite being a little outmanned tonight due to some injuries, I'm proud of the guys for playing hard to the end."
Braelen Cage (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) tied for the game high in scoring, finishing with 13 points for Penn State Altoona, including a 3-for-6 performance from three-point range. Nehemiah Frye (King George, VA/King George) scored eight points to go along with four rebounds and two steals, and Zion Bruce (Kihei, HI/Maryknoll) also had eight points.
Jalen Triplin (Altoona, PA/Altoona) added seven points, Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage) scored six and nabbed a team-high four steals, and Sean Capers (Bronx, NY/Lyman) also had six points while tying for the team lead in rebounds with five. Michael Baskerville (Damascus, MD/Damascus) had five rebounds, two blocks, and two assists.
As a team, Penn State Altoona finished with 18 steals, tying for the seventh-most steals in a game in Lions history.
CNU got 13 points from Toa Hollenbeck, while Tyson Henderson, Collin Hines, and Tyler Sprague scored 11 points apiece for the Captains.
Points were few and far between early in the first half, despite a hectic pace from both teams. Down 4-0, Penn State Altoona's first bucket came on a Cage three-pointer at 16:48, and Jonathan Barkley (Accokeek, MD/Gwynn Park) hit a three just over a minute later to tie the score at 6-6. His free throw at 13:23 gave the Lions a 7-6 edge.
CNU responded with a 10-0 run after that, making it 16-7 on Ryan MacKinnon's basket at the 11:14 mark. The Lions stayed within striking distance, getting a Cage putback, Claar trey, and Frye layup to stay within four points, 18-14, of the Captains' lead just over halfway through the period. But the visitors again used a big run to widen the gap, outscoring Penn State Altoona 13-0 over the next three minutes to make it 31-14.
Bruce hit back-to-back three-pointers later in the half to knock the Lions' deficit down to 11 points, 33-22, and Frye connected from beyond the arc at 1:18 to keep the difference at 11, 39-28. The Lions' scoring for the half ended on a Mason Kargo (Portage, PA/Portage) layup and a Cage three-pointer, and Penn State Altoona went into the break down by 11 points, 44-33.
After a scoreless two-plus minutes to open the second half, Frye's layup at 17:46 drew first blood in the period. But the Captains got hot from three-point range, as makes from Henderson, Hollenbeck, and Sprague propelled CNU to a 21-point lead, 61-40, by the 14-minute mark. Another Hollenbeck three-pointer gave the Captains their biggest lead of the night, 71-42, with 11:06 on the clock.
Penn State Altoona continued to fight, as three-pointers from Cage, Capers, and Max Voyda (Homer City, PA/Homer-Center) set the score at 76-53 with seven minutes to play. A layup from Aidan McCormack (Yardley, PA/Pennsbury) and free throws from Drew Escala (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) and Triplin made it 76-59, and Triplin's layup and foul shot with 1:40 to play put the score differential at 18 points, 80-62. In the closing seconds of the game, the Lions got a trey from Escala and layup by Triplin, and Penn State Altoona finished with a 19-point loss.
Next up, Penn State Altoona will play its first road game of the season next Wednesday, November 12, when the Lions will head to Pittsburgh to face off against non-conference opponent Chatham University. Tipoff for the matchup is scheduled for 6 p.m.
