ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team started its important four-game Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference homestand with a win on Saturday afternoon, when the Lions posted a 95-82 victory over visiting league opponent Hilbert College in Adler Arena.

Penn State Altoona (9-9, 3-6 AMCC) worked its way to a 15-point intermission lead, thanks to a big first half in which the Lions put 50 points on the board and connected on seven three-pointers. The home team boosted its lead to as high as 23 points during the second half, then fended off a late push from Hilbert (12-7, 5-5 AMCC) to earn its third conference win of the season.

"Really good conference win at home against a good Hilbert team that's above us in the standings right now," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "We get some retribution for our big loss to them up there earlier in the year. In conference play, it's all about getting sweeps and splits, and we were able to split with them. Now, we'll try to get the split Monday against Pitt-Bradford."

Rasheed Daniels (Richmond, VA/Monacan) put up a season-high, game-high 30 points for Penn State Altoona while adding seven rebounds and two assists. Daniels shot 11-for-18 from the floor overall, including a 4-for-8 performance from three-point range.

Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage) had 17 points and went 3-for-6 from beyond the arc, and he added seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Mason Kargo (Portage, PA/Portage) scored 11 points and dished out a game-high nine assists while nabbing four steals. Michael Baskerville (Damascus, MD/Damascus) also had game-highs with eight rebounds, five steals, and two blocks while scoring eight points.

"Great effort by the seniors, Kaden Claar and Zion Bruce, and can't say enough about Rasheed, who woke up and found his scoring touch," said McGreal. "When he's able to score the ball like that, it makes us a contender for the conference championship."

Hilbert was led in scoring by Iyan Bremer, who finished with 21 points. Ronnie Lewis scored 18 points for the Hawks, and Ne'Sean Fowlks added 13 points.

Hilbert rolled early in the first half, as a Bremer three-pointer and layup and a Jayden Montgomery basket helped the visitors to a 7-0 lead a minute-and-a-half into the game. Fowlks hit a three-pointer at the 17-minute mark to put the Hawks' lead at 10-4.

Penn State Altoona began to swing the momentum over the next several minutes. Layups from Zion Bruce (Kihei, HI/Maryknoll) and Braelen Cage (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary), along with two Bruce foul shots, trimmed the Hilbert lead to 15-14 by 12:25, before Cage made a layup and a three-pointer to put Penn State Altoona up by four, 19-15, by the 10:57 mark. 50 seconds later, a Kargo steal set up a Baskerville dunk that made it 21-15.

The Lions continued to grow their lead later in the half. Jalen Triplin's (Altoona, PA/Altoona) jumper at 8:12 made it 25-16, and Daniels converted on a four-point play at 6:44, knocking down a three-pointer and making the ensuing foul shot to put his team ahead 29-20. After a Claar layup, Penn State Altoona drilled four straight three-pointers – two from Daniels and one apiece by Kargo and Drew Escala (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) – to make it 43-25. In the final minute of the period, Brendan Abell (Severna Park, MD/Severna Park) made two free throws and hit a three-pointer to help Penn State Altoona head into halftime with a 50-35 advantage.

The Lions found more success from three-point range early in the second half, when a trio of Claar three-pointers helped Penn State Altoona to its largest lead of the day, 61-38, at 17:43. Just under a minute later, another Daniels three ball kept the difference at 23 points, 64-41.

Hilbert began to chip away at its deficit, closing the gap to 64-49 on a Lewis jump shot at 14:40. The Hawks continued to hang around, staying within 13 points, 73-60, on another Lewis bucket at 8:16. Lewis hit another jumper at 6:55 to make it an 11-point game, 74-63.

Penn State Altoona slowed some of the Hawks' momentum with two layups from Triplin and another layup by Daniels, which put the Lions' advantage at 80-63 with five minutes remaining. But Hilbert kept pushing, cutting Penn State Altoona's lead to 10 points, 80-70, on a Larry Morse layup at 3:49, then getting to within nine points, 85-76, on a Bremer three-pointer at 2:01. Fowlks' trey at 1:40 put the difference at eight, 87-79.

But the Lions were able to hold on to their lead, thanks to a strong performance at the foul line down the stretch when Kargo, Daniels, Baskerville, and Claar combined to go 10-for-12 in free throws over the final 1:31 of the game. Penn State Altoona's defense limited the Hawks to just one made basket during that same stretch, helping ice a 13-point conference victory for the home team.

Next up, Penn State Altoona men's basketball hosts AMCC opponent Pitt-Bradford on Monday, February 2 at 7 p.m. It will be the second meeting between the two teams in the span of six days, following the Lions' loss to the Panthers in Bradford last Wednesday.

"We have a long way to go, but we'll enjoy this one tonight and then get ready for our rematch with Pitt-Bradford at home Monday night," said McGreal.