Smith’s 21 points Lead Mont Alto Past Penn State Greater Allegheny, 67-54

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

McKEESPORT, Pa. – Penn State Mont Alto's Jalen Smith (Ranson, W. Va. / Jefferson) scored a game-high 21 points leading Mont Alto to the 67-54 road victory in Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference play on Wednesday.

Inside the Box Score

• Smith scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half where he connected on 2-of-3 shots from downtown. The senior guard is averaging 19.3 points per game and has scored in double-figures in 18-straight games in which he has appeared dating back to last season.
• Sophomore Quintyn Flemister (Harrisburg, Pa. / Harrisburg) made his second start of the season and nearly tallied a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. Flemister shot 57.1 percent from the field shouldering the scoring load in the first half with nine points.
• Mont Alto shot a 34.3 percent clip from the field and connected on 8-of-29 attempts from three-point range.
• Penn State Greater Allegheny held the 43-34 advantage in rebounds, but were never able to get into a groove due to Mont Alto forcing 15 turnovers.
• PSUGA were led in scoring by Jordan Payne who finished with 15 points as Koran Fleming also finished with 10 points and seven boards.

How it Happened

• Mont Alto came out firing from distance as they built a 12-8 lead thanks to 3-point buckets from Jalen Smith (Ranson, W. Va. / Jefferson), Quintyn Flemister (Harrisburg, Pa. / Harrisburg), and Marcus Roper (Charles Town, W. Va. / Jefferson).
• PSUMA led from start to finish and carried a 26-17 lead into the halftime break.
• Early into the second half a Penn State Greater Allegheny run helped them battle back at 30-28. However, after two-straight Greater Allegheny transition layups after Mont Alto misses, John Teague (Hagerstown, Md. / North Hagerstown) slowed down the scoring and established an inside presence with two buckets in the paint.
• Mont Alto pulled away to a 10-point lead once again after a pair of Jalen Smith (Ranson, W. Va. / Jefferson) free throws with 9:26 remaining.
• PSUMA built the lead up to 55-42 forcing a Greater Allegheny timeout after a Smith layup, which came because of a steal on defense.
• Smith hit a dagger from downtown that was assisted by Quintyn Flemister (Harrisburg, Pa. / Harrisburg) putting Mont Alto up 63-21 with 2:30 remaining. PSUMA maintained its double-digit lead down the stretch.

Penn State Mont Alto (6-2, 3-1 PSUAC) returns to action on Friday on their home court with a PSUAC contest against Penn State Beaver. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m.