by McKenzie Quirin

ALTOONA, Pa. – Honoring the Sheetz Fellows Alumni Appreciation Day, the Penn State Altoona men's basketball team earned its second win in a row by defeating Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Wells College, 81-78, on Saturday afternoon in Adler Arena.

Penn State Altoona (8-11, 7-5 AMCC) pulled ahead 41-40 over Wells (4-15, 3-8 AMCC) by halftime, following a first half with multiple lead changes and 10 ties. The second half was just as tightly contested, but Penn State Altoona held on for a three-point victory.

"Good team win today when we didn't play our best basketball. Every game from here on out is a must-win for us, so we're happy to escape with the win," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "Now it's time to get ready to go play our rivals at Mount Aloysius and see if we can get a third straight season series sweep against an opponent before heading down the stretch."

Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) tied his career-high in scoring with a game-high 28 points to lead the Lions, while coming in with eight rebounds, two blocks, one steal and one assist. His total of 13 made field goals ties for the seventh-most in a game by a Lions player in team history.

Following suit was Jahmar White (Yigo, Guam/St. Paul Christian School), who had 17 points to go along with three rebounds, four assists and three steals. Mason Bush (Pittsburgh, PA/Seneca Valley) ended his day with 12 points and added two rebounds, two assists and one steal.

Wells was led in scoring and rebounding by Ransel Rodriguez, who finished with 22 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Chase Welch scored 15 points for the Express, while Billy McCrae had 13 points. James Lucey ended the game with 11 points, and John Bangel had 10 points.

To start off the first half, Penn State Altoona worked its way into a 2-0 lead on Jones' layup, but a three-pointer from Welch gave the Express the early lead. Wells packed on the offense, as Lucey scored a layup and free throw off an offensive rebound to extend their lead to 6-2. Down by four, the Lions got to work by cutting their deficit to two from a White layup at 17:49. A few layups from Wells put them back in the lead, 10-7, after a three-pointer from Justin Sheetz (Eldersburg, MD/Liberty) had Penn State Altoona within one. White not only tied the game up at 10, but he also gave the Lions a 11-10 lead at the 16:19 mark, and Bush later added two to their score.

Welch's second three-pointer of the half tied the game up at 13, and the Express got the lead back to 16-13 when Lucey hit his first three of the night. Bush hit his first three of the night to tie the score at 16, and both teams went two minutes without scoring as the clock neared the 10-minute mark. Penn State Altoona got its fourth tie as Jarrett Gardner (Live Oak, FL/Suwannee) nailed a free throw. Two more free throws from Gardner put the Lions on top, 21-19, but the Express came back with a layup to tie the game at 21, the game's fifth tie. With the Lions up 24-23, Rodriguez went on a scoring surge, as he put in eight of Wells' next points to give them a 31-27 lead. With under four minutes to go in the first half, Jones tied the score up at 31 apiece, and Abiah Charles (Orlando, FL/Wekiva) made two free throws to put the Lions up 33-31. The rest of the half saw some back-and-forth scoring, and Penn State Altoona went into halftime up 41-40 following two more foul shots by Charles.

Coming back into the second half, the Lions pushed forward with a strong layup by Jones to put them ahead 43-40, although Wells cut their deficit to one right after the basket. Rodriguez posted a three-pointer to put the Express up 45-43, but a pair of free throws from Bush tied the game yet again, 45-45. Penn State Altoona scored on its next two possessions, courtesy of layups by Jones. Another Sheetz three-pointer put the Lions in front 52-47 at 15:42. Penn State Altoona was able to increase its lead to 10 points, 64-54, by the 10:49 mark, following a Jones dunk and White layup. Another Jones slam at 8:53 kept the difference at 10, 69-59.

Wells held its own and managed to get back into the game late, as the Express eventually got their deficit down to two points, 73-71, following a Welch jump shot at 2:11. But Jones made two more free throws and had another dunk, while White totaled four free throws in the closing seconds, to help the Lions fend off the Express and finish with an 81-78 victory.

Next up, the Penn State Altoona men's basketball team goes back on the road as they visit nearby AMCC opponent Mount Aloysius College on Wednesday, January 31 at 7:30 p.m.