Men's Basketball Falls to Bobcats, 99-74
ALTOONA, Pa. - The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team hosted their final home game of the 2025-26 season Wednesday night, when they hosted Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Pitt Greensburg, losing to the Bobcats, 99-74.
Penn State Altoona (11-13, 5-10 AMCC) started strong, leading early in the game; however, Pitt Greensburg (20-4, 12-3 AMCC) stormed back late in the first half to take a 12-point halftime lead. The Bobcats kept up the offensive pressure in the second half, widening the gap to win the game by 25 points.
"The guys who were able to play tonight played well and showed good effort, but we were just a little outmanned with three starters out," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal.
Kaden Claar tied for the game-high in points with 20, while having four assists and six steals. Rasheed Daniels (Richmond, VA/Monacan) and Aidan McCormack (Yardley, PA/Pennsbury) each had 10 points.
For the Bobcats, Matthew Marinchak tied for the game-high in scoring after getting 20 points, while Jackson Byer added 15 points.
Penn State Altoona had the lead early in the game, going on an 11-3 run at 19:22 with Daniels scoring a layup, Claar scoring a three-pointer and layup, McCormack scoring a layup, and Braelen Cage (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) scoring a layup to give the Lions an eight-point lead. In the first nearly four minutes of the game, the Lions held the Bobcats to only one basket; a three-pointer scored Ty Keffer scored at 19:32.
At 12:57, Pitt Greensburg equalized following a Ryan Kull free throw. Drew Escala (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) gave the Lions the lead a little more than a minute later after scoring a jump shot to make it 18-16. The Bobcats responded by tying the game before taking a lead of their own.
The Lions retook the lead at 6:46 as Zion Bruce (Kihei, HI/Maryknoll) converted both of his free throws to make the score 25-24. The Bobcats fired back, as Tony Martin scored a layup for the Bobcats to retake the lead at 6:24. From this point, the Bobcats did not relinquish their lead for the remainder of the game. Martin's basket started a 12-2 run from the Bobcats to make it 36-27.
After conceding a last-second layup, the Lions went into the halftime break losing by 12.
Starting at 19:09, the Bobcats went on a 14-2 run to take a 24-point lead. The Lions tried to cut into the Bobcats' lead, as Cage converted two free throws, Brendan Abell (Severna Park, MD/Severna Park) scored a layup, and Claar scored a layup to cut the gap to 18 points.
The Lions went on a 9-1 run at 12:07, scoring through baskets by McCormack, Claar, Abell, and Eli Sterling (Greencastle, PA/Greencastle-Antrim) to make it 75-57. Despite the run, the Lions were outscored by the Bobcats throughout the half, 50-37, as Pitt Greensburg held on to win 99-74.
"Hopefully, we can get a few guys back and healthy, stop Alfred State from giving us our third straight sweep, and get some momentum heading into the playoffs."
The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team will compete in their final regular season game Saturday, February 21, as they travel north to New York to play Alfred State. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
