Men's Basketball Overwhelmed by Pioneers, 89-73
ALTOONA, Pa. - The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team suffered its fourth conference loss of the season Saturday afternoon, when the Lions were overwhelmed, 89-73, by Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Alfred State in the Adler Arena.
Despite being outscored by 14 points in the first half, Penn State Altoona (6-7, 0-4 AMCC) worked their way to being within striking distance, only trailing four points at one point. However, Alfred State (4-10, 2-3 AMCC) ramped up their performance a couple of levels to keep the Lions at bay and win by 16 points.
"We've got a lot of things to work on," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal.
Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage) led the Lions with 20 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Braelen Cage (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) scored 14 points, and Michael Baskerville (Damascus, MD/Damascus) scored 11 points. Mason Kargo (Portage, PA/Portage) had the game-high in assists with six.
Alfred State's Mykell Lawson led all scorers with 33 points, while Kennyh Hardeman had 24 points and a game-high 19 rebounds.
Penn State Altoona started out decent offensively. They jumped out to an early 11-8 lead at 15:12 off a Nehemiah Frye (King George, VA/King George) jump shot.
Things started to change at 11:40. Mykell Lawson scored a three-pointer to make it 16-13. The three-pointer would be the first basket of a short, but crucial 9-0 run for the Pioneers in the first half. From this point on, Alfred State never conceded their lead in the game.
Alfred State furthered their lead at 6:57, going on a 10-2 run to take a 14-point lead with 3:37 left in the half.
The Lions made some baskets, with Claar, Zion Bruce (Kihei, HI/Maryknoll), and Jonathan Barkley (Accokeek, MD/Gwynn Park) all scoring at least one point in the final two-and-a-half minutes to make it only a 14-point deficit going into halftime.
The first five minutes of the second half would see both teams exchanging points, as Alfred State scored 17 points and Penn State Altoona scored 19 points.
Starting at 12:46, the Lions scored 14 crucial points that helped cut Alfred State's lead to only four points with Claar sinking three consecutive three-pointers, Baskerville scoring two free throws, and Cage scoring a three-pointer.
Unfortunately for the Lions, the Pioneers responded by going on a 21-4 run at 9:25 to extend their lead to 21 points.
Hardeman scored a layup at 2:33 to give the Pioneers a 22-point lead, their largest lead in the game.
Sean Martin (Leesburg, VA/Heritage) and Brendan Abell (Severna Park, MD/Severna Park) both scored points off the bench with a minute-and-a-half left to play, but Alfred State would emerge victorious, winning 89-73.
Penn State Altoona men's basketball will look to right the ship in their next game, as they travel to face Carlow University Wednesday, January 14 at 7:00 p.m.
