BRADFORD, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team came out on the losing end of a tightly contested battle with Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Pitt-Bradford on Wednesday evening, as the Panthers earned an 87-80 victory over the Lions at the KOA Arena.

The score was tied 37-37 at the half, but Pitt-Bradford (10-6, 6-3 AMCC) pulled away in the second half to create a double-digit lead. The Panthers held off Penn State Altoona (6-10, 5-4 AMCC) late in the game to clinch a seven-point win.

Mason Bush (Pittsburgh, PA/Seneca Valley) led Penn State Altoona in points and rebounds, finishing with 22 and 10, respectively, for his third double-double of the season. Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) was just shy of a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

Justin Sheetz (Eldersburg, MD/Liberty) added 12 points for the Lions, and Jahmar White (Yigo, Guam/St. Paul Christian School) contributed 10 points and eight rebounds.

Pitt-Bradford got a game-high 23 points from Jamarion Butler, and Gus Napoleon provided 21 points for the Panthers.

Penn State Altoona started the game strong, working its way out to a 12-point lead past the midway point of the first half. A pair of three-pointers by Braelen Cage (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) helped the Lions to an early 6-3 advantage, and Jones' trey at 14:38 made it 11-7. A Bush layup and two Sheetz foul shots boosted Penn State Altoona's lead to 15-9 by the 12:22 mark, and a Jarrett Gardner (Live Oak, FL/Suwannee) basket at 11:01 set his team's advantage at 17-12. Two three-pointers by Sheetz and an Elliot Johansson (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium) free throw gave Penn State Altoona a 24-12 lead by 8:39.

Pitt-Bradford responded by quickly cutting its deficit back to single digits, and the Panthers eventually jumped ahead, 35-32, following back-to-back scores from Butler. Bush's three-pointer at 1:27 answered for the Lions, tying the score at 35-35, and Bush sank a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining in the period to keep the score knotted, 37-37, by halftime.

Penn State Altoona scored the first three buckets of the second half, getting one layup by Jones and two from White to go up 43-37 by 18:21. A jumper by Kevin Woodland, Jr. (Great Mills, MD/Great Mills) gave the Lions a 48-43 lead at 14:52.

But Pitt-Bradford used an 11-2 run to work its way back into the lead, capping the run with a Coby Farley jump shot at 11:59 that put the home team up 54-50. A trio of three-pointers by Napoleon helped the Panthers expanded their lead to six, 63-57, and a Keshon Kittrell trey at 7:49 made it 68-59. Butler converted on a three-point play at 7:05 to increase Pitt-Bradford's lead to 11 points, and a Mo Berete layup at 6:25 made it 74-61.

Penn State Altoona reeled off seven straight points, as Jones' dunk and jump shot and Bush's three-pointer got the Lions back to within six points, 74-68, with five minutes left. Another Bush trifecta cut the Pitt-Bradford lead to five, 76-71, at 3:14.

Pitt-Bradford responded with a Farley three-pointer at the three-minute mark to make it 79-71, and the Panthers continued to hold an eight-point lead with 48 seconds left in the game. Bush connected on his fourth three-pointer of the night with 34 seconds to go, and he made two free throws at the 20-second mark to bring his team within five, 85-80. But Pitt-Bradford tacked on two more points from Butler foul shots, and the Panthers iced a seven-point victory over Penn State Altoona.

Penn State Altoona men's basketball wraps up its three-game road stretch on Saturday, January 20, when the Lions head to Hamburg, N.Y. to take on AMCC foe Hilbert College at 3 p.m.