Second Half Rally Stymied by Brandywine

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

MEDIA, Pa. – The Penn State Mont Alto men's basketball team dropped its first conference game of the season as it traveled to PSU Brandywine on Friday evening. The visitors rallied at several different points especially in the second half, but Brandywine pulled away within the last 1:30 for the 88-79 win. 

Inside the Box Score

• Four players finished in double figures for Mont Alto with Jalen Smith (Ranson, W.Va. / Jefferson) leading the way with 15 points. The senior guard finished with six rebounds and three steals. Fellow backcourt mate Terrell Campbell (Germantown, Md. / St. John's College Prep) finished with eight assists.
• Freshman forward Devante Nelson (Middletown, N.Y. / East Stroudsburg) made his presence felt in the paint connecting on 7-of-10 shots for 14 points and seven boards.
• Shun Hickman (Shippensburg, Pa. / Shippensburg) scored 14 points and Kevin Holston (Fort Washington, Md. / Friendly) added 12 points as each helped spark the second half rally.
• Freshman guard Jacob Hunt who scored a career-high 32 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field helped power Brandywine with Quentin Beasley adding 17 points and five boards.

How it Happened

• PSUMA's three-point shooting narrowed the Brandywine lead in second half as they shot 45.8 percent overall in the game and 5-of-12 in the final period.
• Mont Alto mounted its rally early in the second half jumping ahead 53-50 after a pair of made free throws from Campbell.
• However, Brandywine used a 19-4 surge that helped them build its largest lead of the night at 12 points, 69-57.
• Mont Alto buckled down on defense and went ahead 73-72 after a Jalen Smith layup after a steal. However, Brandywine went on 9-0 run that was sealed by a Hunt trey.

Mont Alto (4-2, 1-1 PSUAC) will look to rebound tomorrow afternoon in a road conference matchup with Penn State Lehigh Valley. Game time is slated for 3 p.m.