PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team suffered a tight loss Saturday afternoon, when they lost in overtime, 106-102, to Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent La Roche at the Kerr Fitness & Sports Center.  

Penn State Altoona's 14 three-pointers today ties for the third-most three-pointers made in a game in team history.  

There were 16 ties and 20 lead changes in a tightly contested, fast-paced game. The Lions held a slim advantage in field goal percentage (51.4% to 50.6%) and three-point percentage (46.7% and 34.6%). Unfortunately for the Lions, four free throws in the final minute resulted in a four-point loss.  

"Great effort today by the guys in what's always a tough place to play," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal.  

Penn State Altoona had four different players finish with double-digit point totals, led by Nehemiah Frye (King George, VA/King George) with 29 points. Frye also had five rebounds, one assist, and one block. Kaden Claar finished with his second double-double of the season, scoring 25 points and having 12 rebounds. Claar also had five assists, one steal, and one block. Braelen Cage (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) scored 17 points and Michael Baskerville (Damascus, MD/Damascus) scored 15 points. Mason Kargo (Portage, PA/Portage) had a game-high nine assists.  

La Roche got a game-high 34 points and 15 rebounds from Major Rainey, while Bryce Epps added 25 points for the Redhawks.  

Both teams came out scoring in the first half. Cage made two three-pointers, while Rainey, Brandon Bell, and Epps for the Redhawks scored baskets to make it 6-6.  

The Lions got a bit of a lead at 14:55. Frye scored a jump shot to make it 16-11 in favor of the Lions; however, La Roche responded with a layup and jump shot to make it 16-15.  

At 9:07, the Lions went on a short, 6-0 run, with Claar scoring a jump shot as well as two free throws and Kargo scoring a three-pointer to give the Lions a six-point lead. But, like before, the Redhawks scored a three-point shot, layup, and free throw to equalize the score, 33-33. 

The Lions went on an 8-2 run with 1:35 left in the half, as Elliot Johansson (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium) scored a three-pointer, Claar scored a layup, and Sean Capers (Bronx, NY/Lyman) scored a three-pointer to give the Lions a six-point lead going into halftime. 

Three minutes into the second half, the Lions went on an 8-3 run. During this run, Frye made a layup as well as a three-pointer, and Cage made a three-pointer. Cage's three-point basket grew the Lions' lead to 12, their largest lead of the game. The Lions' 12-point lead did not last long, however, as La Roche went on an 8-0 run to cut the Lions' advantage to four. La Roche went on an 8-1 run at 10:28 to equalize at 75-75.  

After a Rainey three-point shot, the Redhawks led 92-88 with 0:59 remaining. But Frye and the Lions scored two layups to tie the score at 92-92 to take the game to overtime.  

Both teams started overtime on the front foot, with the game being 99-98 in favor of the Lions at the 2:55 mark. Rainey and Cooper Rankin both scored layups to give the Redhawks a three-point advantage. Frye responded by scoring a three-pointer to make it 102-102 with a minute-and-a-half remaining. Unfortunately, the Lions would concede two fouls in the final 34 seconds. The Redhawks converted all their free throws to win 106-102. 

"The only thing I wish we could've done is get a couple more stops down the stretch, but the offense is starting to click again," said McGreal. "Now, we've just got to get back to playing good defense as we were doing earlier in the year." 

In their next game, Penn State Altoona men's basketball will host AMCC rival Mount Aloysius at Adler Arena on Wednesday, January 21, at 7:00 p.m.