Men’s Basketball Wins Nailbiter Against Barons
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team's schedule returned to Adler Arena on Saturday afternoon, when they beat former Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference foe Franciscan University, 64-63.
Penn State Altoona (3-3) played its way to a halftime lead of 33-27 after a solid defensive start by the Lions. However, Franciscan (4-1) got back into the game during the second half after capitalizing on some missed opportunities by the Lions. Penn State Altoona would hold on though, grabbing the victory by one point.
"Really excited about our effort today against a previously undefeated team. Franciscan has been playing well to start the season," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "It definitely wasn't our prettiest effort on offense, but we knew we were going to have to win this one on the defensive end."
Nehemiah Frye (King George, VA/King George) led the Lions in scoring, getting 15 points. Braelen Cage (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) led Penn State Altoona in assists with three while getting 13 points of his own. Michael Baskerville (Damascus, MD/Damascus) led the Lions in rebounds and blocks with 12 rebounds and three blocks while scoring 14 points.
For the Barons, Sawyer Butler led in scoring with 19 points, while Zach Oliver added a further 11 points.
"We did a great job holding their leading scorer [Sawyer Butler] well under his average, which was a focus of ours. He was held to two points in the first half, which I thought was pretty impressive," said McGreal. "We're starting to play really well together, and today when we needed to make a play, we made it."
After finding themselves 4-2 down in the first two minutes of the half, Penn State Altoona responded by going on a 13-3 run starting at 17:19. Free throws from Frye, Baskerville, and Elliot Johansson (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium), three-pointers from Cage, as well a layup by Frye, gave the Lions a 15-7 lead. Over 39 percent of the Lions' first-half points were scored during the run.
Scoring would be sparser for the Lions after their 13-3 run. They only scored seven more baskets in the remaining 13 minutes of the half to head into halftime with a six-point lead, 33-27.
The first two minutes of the second half began with both sides exchanging baskets. Then, at 18:16, the Barons went on a short, but crucial, 8-0 run that put the score at 37-37. Penn State Altoona made a short 10-2 run of their own starting at 13:51 with three-pointers and free throws from Baskerville, as well as a layup from Mason Kargo (Portage, PA/Portage) to make it 49-43.
Franciscan responded with a 10-2 run beginning at 11:50 to get only their third lead of the game, making it 53-51. From then on, the lead would swing back and forth between the two teams.
Both teams would keep the score close, with neither team having a lead greater than three points. The crucial points for the Lions came with 1:37 remaining, as Frye sank two free throws, the first of which tied the game and the second of which gave Penn State Altoona a 64-63 lead.
Franciscan then had the ball with twenty seconds remaining, but Penn State Altoona came up with a game-winning stop on defense. With four seconds left on the clock, Aiden Townsend went for a jump shot that was blocked by Baskerville. Butler missed the following layup, and Baskerville got the critical defensive rebound that gave the Lions the final possession of the game. Cage dribbled up the court when the buzzer sounded, giving Penn State Altoona their third win of the season.
"I'm proud of this team for how they've come together since coming back from New York," said McGreal. "Now, let's finish our November non-conference schedule with a big win at McDaniel on Tuesday."
Penn State Altoona men's basketball goes on the road for their next game on Tuesday, November 25 against McDaniel. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
