Men’s Basketball Squeak Past PSU Shenango

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

MONT ALTO, Pa. – The Penn State Mont Alto men's basketball team did just enough down the stretch and held on for the 73-70 conference win over Shenango on Tuesday. The Nittany Lions have now rattled off 11-straight wins dating back to the month of November.

Inside the Box Score

• In a game that saw four different lead changes and two ties, PSU Shenango was the better shooting team converting on 44.8% from the field. However, Mont Alto was more potent from 3-point range knocking down 9-of-20 shots (45%).
• Quintyn Flemister (Harrisburg, Pa. / Harrisburg) stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, seven steals, five boards and a pair of assists. His seven steals helped jumpstart the PSUMA defense that forced a total of 21 turnovers.
• Freshman forward JR Powe (Frederick, Md. / Thomas Johnson) netted a team-high 22 points and collected seven rebounds.
• Tyler James scored 26 and collected a game-high 17 rebounds while Donovan Verges chipped in 20 points for Shenango in the loss.

How it Happened

• Penn State Mont Alto (12-2, 9-0 PSUAC) came out red-hot taking an 8-0 lead after a Marcus Roper (Charles Town, W. Va. / Jefferson) trey and built a 12-2 lead forcing a visitors timeout. Shenango ran off eight-straight points to make it 12-10 at the 12:23 mark.
• Shenango gained its first lead of the game at 17-16 and the teams began to play evenly during the next five-minute stretch. PSUMA knocked down back-to-back buckets thanks to a Flemister steal and transition bucket from Roper giving them the 32-25 lead with 3:53 left.
• The visitors couldn't pull within closer than five and Mont Alto went into the halftime break with a 36-30 lead. Shenango held advantages in offensive rebounds (6-4) and overall at 22-15 within the first half.
• The pace once again picked up to begin the second half and Mont Alto's pressure defense allowed them to build a 10-point lead again at 52-42. Shenango scored the next five, but both teams got into the bonus with 9:18 remaining slowing the pace of play down.
• Neither team really shot well from the free throw line as PSUMA led 63-57 after a Nathan Osei (Frederick, Md. / Frederick) layup. High-pressure defense was on display by both teams and Shenango didn't go away down the stretch and forced PSUMA to hit free throws in the final minute of play.

Up next, Mont Alto hits the road for a pair of crucial PSUAC road games this weekend. They will play Penn State DuBois on Friday at 8 p.m. and Greater Allegheny on Saturday at 3 p.m.