ALTOONA, Pa. - The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team hosted Mount Aloysius on a snowy Wednesday night at Adler Arena, where the Lions defeated the Mounties 92-72, in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference contest. 

Penn State Altoona (8-8, 2-5 AMCC) connected on the offensive side of the game tonight, leading by 24 points at one point. Mount Aloysius (2-15, 0-8 AMCC) fought back in the second half, but Penn State Altoona kept up the pressure, winning the contest by 20 points. 

The Lions had 13 made three-pointers tonight, tying for the seventh-most in a game in team history.  

"Nice way to get back in the win column here at home. We've struggled with scoring the basketball the last two home conference games, but today we were able to take advantage of some good shots and good looks and were able to shoot the ball consistently well tonight," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal.  

Three Lions had double digits in points. Rasheed Daniels (Richmond, VA/Monacan) had a game-high 21 points. Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage) finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals, and three blocks. Braelen Cage (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) scored 13 points and had two steals. Mason Kargo (Portage, PA/Portage) led the game in assists with seven.  

Mount Aloysius got 20 points from Donovan Bass-Briscoe, who led the game in rebounds with nine. Senique Jenkins chipped in with 11 points for the Mounties.  

The Lions started off the game with a 7-3 run in the first minutes of the first half, with Daniels making a layup and Claar making a jump shot, layup, and free throw. The Lions added an 8-1 run at the 16:14 mark. Claar made a three-pointer; Daniels made a three-pointer, and Aidan McCormack (Yardley, PA/Pennsbury) made a tip-in to make it a nine-point game.  

The Mounties hit back with seven-and-a-half minutes left of the half, going on an 8-2 run to close the gap to five points.  

Penn State Altoona responded with less than three minutes in the half with a 7-0 run including baskets from Daniels, Kargo, and Claar. The run ensured the Lions went into the halftime break with an eleven-point lead.  

Mount Aloysius came into the second half looking to get back into the game. The Mounties went on an 8-2 run at the 18:45 mark to close the gap to six points. Penn State Altoona fired back, going on an 11-3 run three minutes later. Zion Bruce (Kihei, HI/Maryknoll) scored a free throw, Claar scored two free throws, Daniels scored a layup, Cage scored a three-point jump shot, and McCormack scored a three-pointer. The 11-3 run extended the gap to fourteen points.  

The game was full of runs for the Lions, as they followed their 11-3 run with a 14-3 run at the 10:43 mark. In the run, Cage scored two points, Claar scored three points, Bruce scored five points, and Sean Capers (Bronx, NY/Lyman) scored four points. This run gave the Lions a 21-point lead.  

The Mounties created an 8-2 run with less than seven minutes left in the game to close the Lions' lead to 15 points.  

Following this, the Lions and Mounties traded baskets, making the score 81-64 in favor of the Lions.  

The freshmen joined in on the scoring, combining to make an 11-4 run late in the second half. Max Voyda (Homer City, PA/Homer-Center) chipped in three points, JT Harman (Fredericksburg, VA/St. Michael the Archangel) scored five points, and Sean Martin (Leesburg, VA/Heritage) scored three points. Harman's three-point shot at 1:05 gave the Lions a 24-point lead, their largest lead in the game.  

Mount Aloysius scored two more baskets, but were unable to overcome the deficit, as the Lions were victorious, 92-72.  

"I'm super proud of the whole team for coming together after the news of losing Nehemiah [Frye] for the year. A lot of teams would turn it in if they lost their leading scorer, but this group seemed eager for the challenge and really showed the effort and energy tonight that we will need to play with the rest of the way." 

The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team remains at home for their next game on Sunday, January 25, when they will face Pitt Bradford at 3:00 p.m.