ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team concluded its first homestand of the season with a 73-62 victory over NCCAA opponent Regent University on Friday night in Adler Arena.

The Lions (3-1) shook off a slow start and overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half to rally past Regent (1-2), which is in the process of transitioning to NCAA Division III. Penn State Altoona outscored the Royals 44-26 in the second half to win by 11, securing their third consecutive victory.

"Excited to escape tonight with a win. Any win is a good win, and I keep trying to tell my team that the object of the game is to win," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "It was a really neat night for me, coaching against a former teammate of mine at Maryville College, Spencer Beaty, who I played with for three years there. He has done an amazing job in the short time he's been at Regent with a team that won two games last year. As I told him in the handshake line, his guys play exactly how he did: tough-nosed, never back down, and like to shoot the three."

Penn State Altoona's second half comeback was keyed by a defensive effort that limited Regent to a 30.0 percent field goal percentage in the period while forcing the Royals into 10 turnovers.

"After a super slow start in which we never really got into a groove the entire half, especially offensively, our defense turned it up in the second half. We got turnovers that led to easy baskets, which is always what helps get us going offensively," said McGreal. "Our length and athleticism in zone really hurt them, and we were able to make enough plays down the stretch on offense to get the win."

Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) posted his third double-double of the season for the Lions, finishing the night with a team-high 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with three assists and two blocks. Jalen Martinez (Brooklyn, NY/New Hope Academy) added 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.

Kal-El Gentles (Austin, TX/San Juan Diego) contributed 12 points, six boards, and two assists, and Nehemiah Frye (King George, VA/Kin George) totaled 10 points and six rebounds.

Regent was led in scoring by Vladimir Vibert, who put up a game-high 24 points for the Royals.

Regent outscored Penn State Altoona 9-1 to open the game, with Vibert's layup at 17:04 giving the Royals an eight-point lead. Darrin Clark's jump shot just over a minute later kept the difference at eight, 11-3. But Penn State Altoona outscored Regent 11-2 over the next six-and-a-half minutes, including a pair of layups by Gentles that gave the Lions a 14-13 lead.

After the teams traded points over the next several minutes, Regent began to pull away again. Christian Brown's three-pointer at 6:29 gave the Royals a 23-16 lead, and Antoine Brown's layup at 5:20 boosted the visitors' advantage to 27-16. Penn State Altoona got late points from Justin Sheetz (Eldersburg, MD/Liberty) on an offensive putback and Frye on a layup to cut the deficit to five, 34-29. After a pair of foul shots from Vibert with three seconds left in the period, Regent went into halftime with a 36-29 lead.

Regent carried its momentum into the second half, when early threes from Vibert and Brendan Goods put the Royals' lead back at 11 points, 42-31. But Penn State Altoona began to chip away, as two Jones free throws, Gentles' layup, and Frye's putback made it a seven-point difference, 44-37. Jones' fastbreak dunk at 12:31 cut the Regent lead to four, 47-43, and baskets from Martinez and Jones got the Lions within three, 50-47, by the 9:08 mark.

A minute later, Caleb Pierce (Altoona, PA/Altoona) connected from three-point range to tie the score at 50-50, and Martinez followed with a three ball of his own during the next possession to give Penn State Altoona its first lead since early in the first half. Gentles' three-pointer at 6:51 made it 56-52, and Jones' pair of foul shots and layup gave his team a six-point lead, 60-54, with five minutes to play. Two layups from Abiah Charles (Orlando, FL/Wekiva), one Jones layup, and a pair of Frye free throws put Penn State Altoona's lead at nine points, 68-59, by 1:39.

Gentles, Jones, and Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage) combined to make five foul shots over the final 52 seconds of the game to help Penn State Altoona close out its third straight win.

The Lions finished the game with a 54-34 advantage over Regent in rebounds, and they also led 15-2 in second chance points and 36-26 in points in the paint.

Next up, the Penn State Altoona men's basketball team will travel to Massachusetts for its next games, as the Lions will compete in the Hampton Inn Holiday Classic on Friday, November 22, and Saturday, November 23, at Western New England University. Penn State Altoona will go up against host Western New England at 6 p.m. in Friday's game, then face either Ramapo or Colby on Saturday.

"Now, we have a little break before we head up to another really tough tournament, where we'll play host Western New England next Friday," said McGreal. "We definitely have to improve before then. Go Lions!"