ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team got back in the win column Wednesday evening, when the Lions picked up their eighth Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference victory of the season with an 89-83 triumph over nearby rival Mount Aloysius College in the Adler Arena.

Penn State Altoona (12-8, 8-3 AMCC) established a 10-point lead by halftime, then fended off a second half push by Mount Aloysius (5-16, 3-9 AMCC) to hang on for the win.

Additionally, the Lions held their annual Sideline Cancer Night, in partnership with the Griffith Family Foundation, and raised money to benefit Michelle Blackman, the mother of freshman guard Kal-El Gentles. The team also recognized senior forward Dwayne Jones prior to tipoff for achieving 1,000 points with the program.

"Very excited to get back on track after a week off of a tough loss. It was a special night here in Adler for multiple reasons, between Dwayne Jones being celebrated for reaching 1,000 points with us, to most importantly our collaboration with Sideline Cancer and helping raise money for Kal-El Gentles' mom," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "I was happy with the way we came out and took control early and never trailed the entire game. It was great to see Kal play really well, especially in the second half, kind of taking over the game at times with everything that was on the line, from needing this conference win to playing for his mom in the stands."

Penn State Altoona had three scorers finish with 20 or more points, led by Kal-El Gentles' (Austin, TX/San Juan Diego) 21-point effort. Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage) produced 20 points, and Nehemiah Frye (King George, VA/King George) also scored 20 points to go along with eight rebounds.

Abiah Charles (Orlando, FL/Wekiva) provided 10 points off the bench. Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) posted game highs with 11 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks while scoring eight points, and Mason Kargo (Portage, PA/Portage) added 10 points, four assists, and three steals.

Mount Aloysius' De'Von Haggans put up a game-high 23 points, while Troy Tinch and Ronnie McClain scored 14 points apiece for the Mounties.

Penn State Altoona started the game by scoring the first 10 points, including getting a pair of three-pointers from Claar, and Frye connected from beyond the arc at 13:15 to keep the difference at 10, 19-9, by the 13:15 mark. Kargo hit back-to-back three-pointers midway through the half to put the Lions' lead at nine points, 27-18.

Claar's trey at 7:15 kept it at a nine-point difference, 34-25, before Jones' foul shot at 5:55 boosted Penn State Altoona's lead back to 10 points, 35-25. The Lions continued to maintain a steady lead, and Claar's free throw with 59 seconds left in the period closed the first half scoring, putting Penn State Altoona up 48-38 by the intermission.

Frye started the second half with a layup 40 seconds into the period, giving Penn State Altoona what would be its largest lead of the contest, 50-38. Mount Aloysius responded with a run, however, outscoring the Lions 20-8 over the next seven minutes. The Mounties' push was capped by Haggans' layup and foul shot at 12:23 that knotted the score at 58-58.

But Penn State Altoona did not yield the lead to Mount Aloysius, answering less than a minute later with a three-pointer from Charles that put the Lions back on top, 61-58. Gentles rattled off 15 of the Lions' next 17 points after that, helping his team to a 78-71 advantage with 5:12 to go.

Shortly thereafter, layups from Frye and Gentles increased Penn State Altoona's lead back to nine points, 82-73, and late foul shots by Gentles, Kargo, and Claar helped the Lions successfully close out the victory.

Now, Penn State Altoona men's basketball will prepare to hit the road for its next AMCC game, as the Lions will head northwest to take on Penn State Behrend this Saturday, February 8, at 2 p.m.

"We will enjoy this win tonight and enjoy Kal-El and his mom and Sideline Cancer for all of their help," said McGreal. "Our next step will be going for a very rare season sweep of Behrend up in Erie this weekend."