Cougars Roll Past Lions, 89-62
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team returned from its brief Thanksgiving layoff to host non-conference opponent Chatham University on Sunday afternoon in the Adler Arena, where the visiting Cougars dealt the Lions an 89-62 loss.
Chatham (6-1) ran out to a 51-24 halftime lead, helped by a 58.1 percent field goal success rate and going 9-for-18 from three-point range. Penn State Altoona (4-4) was able to rein in the Cougars' offense during the second half, but the Lions could not dig out of their 27-point hole.
"Obviously, we were not ready to play this afternoon. It seems like we still had a little lag from the Thanksgiving holiday," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "Now, our focus has to switch to what's most important, and that's conference play, starting with our first home conference game on Wednesday."
Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) scored 11 points for Penn State Altoona to go along with three rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Michael Baskerville (Damascus, MD/Damascus) had 10 points and four rebounds off the bench.
Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage) added nine points, Kal-El Gentles (Austin, TX/San Juan Diego) finished with seven points and three assists, and Nehemiah Frye (King George, VA/King George) had a team-best five rebounds while chipping in six points.
Chatham's Lovenson Xavier led all scorers with 20 points. Easton Fulmer provided 15 points off the bench for the Cougars, and Diaun Pinkett had 13 points, eight rebounds, and six steals.
Penn State Altoona scored the game's first bucket on a Claar three-pointer 16 seconds into the period, and two layups from Frye helped the Lions to a 7-6 lead by the 16:20 mark. But Chatham outscored the home team 14-0 over the next several minutes, until an Abiah Charles (Orlando, FL/Wekiva) jumper at 11:38 snapped the Cougars' scoring streak.
A three-pointer from Braelen Cage (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) and layups from Baskerville and Jones made it an 11-point game, 27-16, by 7:23. But Chatham expanded its lead over the remainder of the half, including getting a Xavier three-pointer with 48 seconds to go and a Zavea Green putback basket at the buzzer, to take a 51-24 lead into the locker room.
Penn State Altoona started the second half by outscoring Chatham 8-3, getting baskets from Jones, Claar, Gentles, and Frye to trim its deficit to 22 points, 54-32, by the 17:18 mark. Jones' layup and free throw at 16:18 made it 58-38, and a pair of Jalen Martinez (Brooklyn, NY/New Hope Academy) foul shots at 9:41 got the Lions back to within 16 points, 62-46. But Chatham posted an 18-5 scoring advantage over Penn State Altoona over the next four-and-a-half minutes, creating its largest lead of the day, 80-51, with 5:15 to play.
Now, Penn State Altoona men's basketball will prepare to get back to Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference play. The Lions' next game is against conference foe Pitt-Greensburg at home this Wednesday, December 4, at 7 p.m.
