Lions Fall 94-79 in Battle with Celtics
ALTOONA, Pa. - The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team continued its four-game Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference homestand with a loss Wednesday night, losing to the visiting Carlow Celtics, 94-79.
Penn State Altoona (10-10, 4-7 AMCC) found themselves losing by 14 points at the halftime break after Carlow (3-18, 3-9 AMCC) scored 12 points in the final five minutes to the Lions's four. The Celtics led by as much as 24 points as they held on for the 15-point win.
"Injuries and lack of real depth are starting to catch up with us," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "Hopefully, we can bandage together a couple more wins to make sure we get a chance to play in the postseason."
Rasheed Daniels (Richmond, VA/Monacan) put up a team-high 19 points and contributed a game-high four assists. Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage) scored 18 points and shot 7-for-11 from the floor overall. Claar led the team in rebounds with eight and had four steals.
Jordyn Tavarez led the game in scoring, putting up 23 points for Carlow. Jimmy Giannetta scored 22 points for the Celtics, and Tomasi Pavihi added 21 points.
The game started out tight, with the score being tied at seven after three minutes. The Lions gained momentum, going on an 8-2 run at the 16:30 mark. Daniels and Claar both scored three pointers, and Drew Escala (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) added a layup to give the Lions a 15-9 lead. Unfortunately for the Lions, this would be as big of a lead as they would get. The Celtics immediately responded, going on a short, 6-0 run to equalize the game at 15-15.
The Celtics went on an 11-2 run at 7:54 to take a six-point lead. The Lions tried to respond but were only able to score through a layup by Zion Bruce (Kihei, HI/Maryknoll) and free throws from Elliot Johansson (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium) and Eli Sterling (Greencastle, PA/Greencastle-Antrim) as the Celtics went into the intermission with a 14-point lead.
The second half began with a lot of back-and-forth between the two sides. Daniels cut Carlow's lead to eleven after a three-point play, before Giannetta had a three-point play of his own to restore Carlow's lead to 14.
Carlow started to pull away from the Lions at the 10:14 mark, going on a 13-0 run to take a 24-point lead, their highest of the game.
The Lions tied to claw their way back into the game, going on an 11-2 run with 6:36 left in the half. In the run, Sterling scored two free throws, Claar scored off a layup and two free throws, Braelen Cage (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) scored a three-pointer, and Aidan McCormack (Yardley, PA/Pennsbury) scored a tip-in. The run made the score 73-58.
Fourteen points would be as close as the Lions got to the Celtics from that point on, as the Celtics rode their lead to get a 94-79 victory.
In the final game of their four-match homestand, Penn State Altoona men's basketball will face La Roche University on Saturday, February 7 at 4:00 p.m. Before the game, Penn State Altoona men's basketball will honor seniors Kaden Claar and Zion Bruce.
