WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team's schedule returned to Pennsylvania on Wednesday night, when they beat the Penn College Wildcats 101-94 at the Bardo Gymnasium.

Penn State Altoona (2-3) played their way to a 46-31 halftime lead after a solid start by the Lions, then went up by as many as 20 points in the second half. Although Penn College (0-5) outscored the Lions 63-55 in the second half, Penn State Altoona was able to hold on for the 101-94 victory.

"Great road win tonight in a tough environment," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "Our defense got us going early. Getting some turnovers and some easy early buckets got the momentum going after a slow start."

Michael Baskerville (Damascus, MD/Damascus) led the Lions in scoring, rebounds, and blocks, getting 22 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks. Mason Kargo (Portage, PA/Portage) led Penn State Altoona in assists with nine while scoring 11 points. Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage) led the team in steals with six, tying for the ninth-most steals in a single game in Lions' history, while scoring 14 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

Braelen Cage (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) added 14 points, and Nehemiah Frye (King George, VA/King George) scored 12 points.

"Career night for big Mike, and Kargo found his scoring touch," said McGreal. "Our bench also played well and contributed offensively and defensively."

For the Wildcats, Brian Rivera led in scoring with 20 points, while Ethan Roman added a further 17 points.

The two teams would be neck and neck for most of the first half, before Penn State Altoona started to grow their lead late heading towards halftime. In the final five minutes of the half, the Lions went on a 12-2 run to head into the halftime break with a 15-point lead. Free throws from Zion Bruce (Kihei, HI/Maryknoll) and Elliot Johansson (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium), layups by Aidan McCormack (Yardley, PA/Pennsbury), Claar, and Frye, and three-pointer from Bruce helped Penn State Altoona to a 46-31 advantage at the half.

The second half started much like the first half, as both teams broke even with eight points apiece in the first three-and-a-half minutes.

Penn State Altoona kept a solid lead over the next several minutes, as two Drew Escala (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) three-pointers made it 60-42. Points from Johansson, Baskerville, and Claar got it to 70-54, and Kargo hit a three at 10:59 to make it 73-54. Two baskets from Cage and a layup and foul shot from Eli Sterling (Greencastle, PA/Greencastle-Antrim) gave the Lions their biggest lead of the game, 80-60, with 8:07 left.

Penn College started a 14-2 run at 7:23 to close Penn State Altoona's lead to only seven points. The Wildcats followed that up with a 9-2 run with 3:13 left in the game to get within three points of the Lions, cutting the lead to 91-88 with 2:19 remaining.

But the Wildcats were outscored by the Lions in the final minute, as Penn State Altoona's Cage, Baskerville, and Claar combined to sink seven free throws in the last 46 seconds and help their team beat Penn College 101-94.

"Late in the second half, we took our foot off the gas, especially on defense, and allowed them to get back into the game," said McGreal. "I'm proud of the guys for hanging on and finding a way to finish."

While Penn College led Penn State Altoona in field goal percentage (46.7% to 43.2%) and three-point percentage (46.7% to 28.1%), the Lions did have a significant advantage in turnovers, only turning the ball over 10 times to the Wildcats' 23 times. The Lions also took advantage of those turnovers, scoring 27 points off turnovers to the Wildcats' 15.

The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team returns home on Saturday, November 22, as they face former Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Franciscan University. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

"Big home test this weekend as we host old AMCC foe Franciscan on Saturday at 2 p.m.," said McGreal. "Come out and support!"