PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team got their first win of the season Wednesday night, when the Lions beat the Chatham Cougars 82-77 in the Athletic & Fitness Center.

The Lions (1-1) worked their way to a 39-34 lead by halftime, then went up by as many as 13 points in the second half. Chatham (0-2) closed the gap late, but Penn State Altoona held on for a five-point win. With the victory, the Lions avenged the 89-62 loss that they suffered last season at the hands of Chatham.

"Really proud to come in here and take care of business on the road against a really good team that took it to us at home last year," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "The guys played great — very unselfish and great defense. Now, on to New York."

Four Lions had double-digit point tallies in the victory. Nehemiah Frye (King George, VA/King George) led all scorers with 24 points, scoring 64.7 percent of his shots, and tied for the game lead in rebounds with nine. Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage) had 18 points and nine rebounds, Braelen Cage (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) scored 13 points, and Michael Baskerville (Damascus, MD/Damascus) added 11 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks. Mason Kargo (Portage, PA/Portage) led the team in assists with five.

Chatham's Lovenson Xavier led the home team in scoring with 17 points, while Donovan Callahan added 11 points for the Cougars.

Penn State Altoona found themselves behind early in the game, as Chatham scored a series of shots to make the score 12-6. The Lions turned it around, as Nehemiah Frye (King George, VA/King George) scored layup, three-pointer, and free throw to make the score 12-12.

The Cougars tried to pull away again midway through the first half, as they scored a layup and two three-pointers to take a 22-17 lead. It would not last long though, as baskets from Claar, Frye, and Eli Sterling (Greencastle, PA/Greencastle-Antrim) made the score 23-22 in favor of the Lions.

Penn State Altoona took more control of events in the final seven minutes of the half, with Jonathan Barkley (Accokeek, MD/Gwynn Park), Cage, Baskerville, Aidan McCormack (Yardley, PA/Pennsbury), Elliot Johansson (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium), and Frye all scoring for the Lions to head into halftime with a 39-34 lead.

The Lions kept control in the start of the second half, holding the Cougars to only two baskets in the first five minutes of the half, while adding 13 points to the visitors' side of the scoreboard. Penn State Altoona took its biggest lead of the game at 16:49, when Frye's layup made it 50-37.

Chatham responded by scoring 11 points of their own, but they could not overcome the deficit created by the Lions. The Cougars threatened late, making it a one-point game, 78-77, at 1:22. But Penn State Altoona held on to the lead the rest of the way, getting free throws from Claar and Cage to help ice the victory, beating the Cougars 82-77.

Up next, Penn State Altoona men's basketball will travel to New York to compete in the two-day Michael A. Freilich Classic, hosted by SUNY-Oneonta. They will start the weekend by facing Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this Saturday, November 15, at 5:00 p.m.