ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team honored seniors Zion Bruce (Kihei, HI/Maryknoll) and Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage) in a pregame Senior Day ceremony Saturday afternoon in Adler Arena, then rallied to overcome a double-digit deficit to defeat Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference foe La Roche University, 62-60, on a last-second shot.

With the game tied 60-60 in the final moments of the second half, Claar beat the buzzer and scored on a floater to deliver a big AMCC win for Penn State Altoona (11-10, 5-7 AMCC).

La Roche (11-11, 10-3 AMCC) controlled the first half, working its way to a 35-19 halftime lead and holding Penn State Altoona to a 20.0 percent field goal success rate in the period. But the Lions awoke in the second half, when they outscored the Redhawks 43-25 to come all the way back and nab an important conference victory on Claar's game-winning shot.

"This team is probably the biggest 'Jekyll and Hyde' team I've ever coached," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "We've had some amazing wins this year, along with some uncharacteristic losses, especially at home. But, while dealing with injuries and everything, and despite being down 16 at the half, to be able to win today shows this group does have a lot of character."

Including his game-winning basket, Penn State Altoona's Claar scored 11 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds. Fellow senior Bruce ended his day with five points, two assists, and two blocks.

The Lions got a game-high, season-high 21 points from Drew Escala (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone), who also chipped in six rebounds and a pair of assists coming off the bench. Escala produced 18 of his 21 points during Penn State Altoona's second-half rally.

Rasheed Daniels (Richmond, VA/Monacan) added 14 points, five rebounds, and a game-high five steals, and Braelen Cage (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) contributed nine points and four boards.

"It worked out beautifully that Kaden was the hero on his senior day. Another full circle moment was Zion playing well, getting in foul trouble, and freshman Drew Escala being a hero for us, especially in the second half," said McGreal. "That's what building culture is all about: the 'next man up' mentality. I couldn't be prouder of us hanging in there and pulling out the win, especially after the way we played Wednesday."

La Roche was led in scoring by Brandon Bell, who scored 16 points for the Redhawks. The visitors also got 12 points and nine rebounds from Major Rainey.

Penn State Altoona held a slim 7-6 advantage three-and-a-half minutes into the game, as a Claar layup, two Daniels foul shots, and a Bruce three-pointer gave the Lions a one-point lead. Cage hit a three-pointer at 13:53 to put Penn State Altoona up by one again, 12-11, and an Escala jumper at 13:20 made it 14-13.

But La Roche held the Lions to just five points over the remainder of the period, as the Redhawks powered their way to a 16-point halftime lead. Logan Golle made two free throws at 8:40 to give the visitors their first double-digit advantage of the day, 25-15, and baskets from Bell and Rainey made it 31-15 with 4:27 left in the opening stanza. La Roche kept its lead at 16 points by the intermission, as Jordyn Fougerousse made a three-pointer in the closing seconds of the half to make it 35-19.

Penn State Altoona's offense got on track early in the second half, when the Lions started the period on an 8-2 run, narrowing their deficit to 37-27 following Daniels' jump shot at 17:14. Soon after, back-to-back Escala jumpers helped Penn State Altoona trim the La Roche lead back to single digits, 40-33. Escala connected from three-point range at 12:58 to cut the Redhawks' advantage to 42-38, and a Cage layup at 10:30 brought his team to within four, 45-41.

La Roche responded by outscoring Penn State Altoona 9-2 over the next three minutes, with Bell's three-pointer increasing the Redhawks' lead back to 11 points, 54-43.

But Penn State Altoona countered with another run of its own, rattling off a 9-0 run to close the gap to 54-52. Escala provided six of the Lions' nine points during that span, including knocking down a pair of free throws at 5:57 to make it a two-point game.

Three minutes later, Penn State Altoona finally broke even with La Roche when Daniels' bucket tied the score at 56-56. 44 seconds later, the Lions took their first lead since the early stages of the contest on an Escala jumper.

La Roche knotted the score on a Rainey layup at 1:50, then reclaimed the lead on another Rainey basket with 1:04 left. Penn State Altoona managed to tie things up again 18 seconds after that, when Claar's layup made it 60-60.

Out of a timeout, Penn State Altoona was able to get a stop on defense when it forced La Roche to turn the ball over on a shot clock violation with 14 seconds left. The Lions ended the game in regulation on the ensuing possession, when Claar drove down the lane and sank a floater from short range just before the buzzer to complete Penn State Altoona's comeback.

The Lions' victory was keyed by a second half that saw the team improve at both ends of the court. On offense, Penn State Altoona shot 57.1 percent from the floor and went 10-for-11 at the free throw line. Defensively, the Lions held La Roche to just 25 points on a 26.7 percent field goal percentage.

Next, Penn State Altoona men's basketball returns to the road for the first time since January 28, as the Lions will travel to nearby Cresson to take on AMCC rival Mount Aloysius College on Wednesday, February 11. Tipoff at the ACW Center is set for 7 p.m.

"Next week, we have two road games, so we need to maintain our focus and keep our head in our lane," said McGreal.