BUFFALO, N.Y. – Penn State Altoona men's basketball started the new year off with a loss, falling 110-77 to Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Medaille College in the Sullivan Center on Saturday afternoon.

Medaille (5-7, 3-4 AMCC) found much success on offense, shooting 59.4 percent from the field overall, including going 14-for-27 from three-point range. Penn State Altoona (7-3, 3-3 AMCC) was unable to match the Mavericks' offensive effort, shooting 39.2 percent from the field.

The loss halts the Lions' five-game winning streak.

"Very disappointed in today's effort. It was a definite wakeup call, and I think we needed it," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "We have had some success this season, but we have to practice harder and play harder and smarter if we want to continue to have success."

Jack Kusters (Quakertown, PA/Lansdale Catholic) led Penn State Altoona in scoring with a season-high 22 points, and he also had team-highs with three assists and two steals. Kusters went 9-for-16 from the field, including 3-for-6 from three-point range. Alex McClellan (York, PA/West York) came off the bench to score a season-high 19 points, shooting 7-for-14 from the field, including going 5-for-9 from beyond the arc.

Medaille got a game-high 26 points from Kirk Hawkins, who reached the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career during the first half. Jonathan Smith posted a double-double for the Mavericks, finishing with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

After Kusters scored the game's first points on a jump shot at 19:47, Medaille embarked on an 11-2 run that included seven points from Hawkins. A three-pointer from Hawkins at 12:54 set the home team's lead at 17-11.

At that point, Penn State Altoona responded with a quick 8-0 run to reclaim the lead. Kusters' three-pointer at 12:45 trimmed the Lions' deficit to three, and Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) made it a one-point game with his layup 19 seconds later. Kusters' layup and foul shot at the 12-minute mark put Penn State Altoona back on top, 19-17.

But Medaille's offense kicked things into high gear, as the Mavericks outscored Penn State Altoona 33-13 over the remainder of the first half. Brock Kroening's layup at 7:16 gave Medaille its first double-digit lead of the day, 35-25, and Rodney Graves' three-pointer with 56 seconds left in the period set the eventual halftime score, 50-32.

Penn State Altoona improved its shooting in the second half, during which the Lions scored 45 points on a 42.9 percent field goal percentage. But Penn State Altoona could not overcome Medaille's 60-point, 62.2 percent shooting performance during the half, as the Mavericks expanded their lead.

Lions basketball will look to get back in the win column in their next game, which is scheduled for Wednesday, January 8 at 1:00 p.m. on the road at AMCC opponent Hilbert College.

"We have a lot of work to do," said McGreal. "We have to be ready for a very talented Hilbert team, or they will blow us out, too."