Mont Alto Tops New Kensington in PSUAC Opener

Mont Alto Tops New Kensington in PSUAC Opener
Photos Box Score
November 27, 2018

By: Frank Maira, Assistant Director of Athletics/Sports Information Director

MONT ALTO, Pa. – The Penn State Mont Alto men's basketball team settled in after trading buckets early on in Tuesday night's game with New Kensington as they went on to win, 86-66 in the PSUAC opener. Mont Alto improved to 4-1 overall as four different players scored in double figures.

Inside the Box Score

  • Jalen Smith (Ranson, W.Va. / Jefferson) would lead Mont Alto in points finishing with 21 on the night. The senior guard shot 71.4 percent from the floor and is shooting 55 percent from downtown so far this season.
  • Senior Kevin Holston (Fort Washington, Md. / Friendly) finished his night with 11 points, eight boards and five assists.
  • PSUMA got 42 points from their bench, which included sophomore Quintyn Flemister's (Harrisburg, Pa. / Harrisburg) 11 points, making 2-of-2 from three-point range and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. Nick Jacoby (Shippensburg, Pa. / Shippensburg) tallied a game-high 10 rebounds and just missed out on a double-double with seven points.
  • Shun Hickman (Shippensburg, Pa. / Shippensburg) was the other player for PSUMA to finish in double figures with 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting.
  • Tavon Ngangum finished with 14 points and Brent Ivory added 12 points off the bench for New Kensington.
  • The visitors were held to 32.8 percent shooting from the floor and only converted on 2-of-13 opportunities from downtown.

How it Happened

  • Both teams were sloppy with the basketball with Mont Alto turning the ball over 24 times. However, their pressure defense led them to 18 points off of New Kensington's 17 turnovers.
  • The visitors were able to get to the free throw line early on and built a 14-10 lead over Mont Alto. PSUMA's second unit provided a spark as a Devante Nelson (Middletown, N.Y. / East Stroudsburg) layup was the first bucket in a PSUMA 29-8 run that was capped off by a Jalen Smith (Ranson, W.Va. / Jefferson) layup on a steal by Marcus Roper (Charles Town, W.Va. / Jefferson) that put them up 39-22 with 3:34 left in the half.
  • Mont Alto carried a 48-31 lead into the halftime break as they shot 50 percent (18-of-36) from the field.
  • The team's essentially traded buckets in the second half with Mont Alto establishing a 23-point lead but New Kensington closed the gap to 20 points due in large part to their 12 points from the free throw line.

Mont Alto continues Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference play on Friday, November 30 with a road matchup with Brandywine. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.