SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – A late-game, frantic rally by the Penn State Altoona men's basketball team came up short on Saturday afternoon, as the Lions lost 78-77 to Colby College in the consolation game of Western New England University's Hampton Inn Holiday Classic at the Caprio Center.

Penn State Altoona (3-3) trailed by six points with 1:18 left in the game, but the Lions' full-court press created three Colby (4-1) turnovers and helped bring Altoona back to within one point. But the Lions were unable to connect on a last-second shot at the buzzer, and the Mules survived to hand Penn State Altoona a tough loss.

"Tough one today. We definitely had our chances, but again, I am happy with our effort. We found our groove offensively in the first half, but unfortunately, their zone hurt us. We had some actions ready for it, but with little time to prepare, we didn't execute the way we wanted," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "We were able to use our press late to get us a chance to win, but without a timeout left there, we had to improvise and we weren't able to get a quality look."

The Lions' Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) finished his day with a team-high 26 points and game-high 12 rebounds while also leading all players with three blocks, and he was named to the all-tournament team after the game. Justin Sheetz (Eldersburg, MD/Liberty) provided 15 points off the bench, and Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage) scored 12 points. Kal-El Gentles (Austin, TX/San Juan Diego) added 10 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.

Colby got a game-high 31 points from Max Poulton. Nate Kwiecinski finished with 12 points for the Mules, and Jack Lawson recorded 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Penn State Altoona and Colby found themselves deadlocked by the end of a high-scoring first half in which both teams put 50 points on the board. The Mules went up by as many as 10 points, before the Lions battled back to even the score by halftime.

Colby started the game with a 9-2 lead, but Penn State Altoona used a Nehemiah Frye (King George, VA/King George) three-pointer and layups from Gentles and Claar to tie the score at 9-9 four minutes into the half. The Mules went ahead again, but a pair of Sheetz treys kept the Lions within three points, 25-22.

Colby went on a 10-3 run, including three-pointers from Sam Hinman and Rashard Doyal and a layup from Poulton, that put the Mules ahead by 10 points, 35-25, by the 8:34 mark. But Penn State Altoona quickly narrowed its deficit, as a trio of Jones three-pointers, a Gentles dunk, and two Claar free throws made it a one-point game, 39-38, with 5:54 left in the half. Colby increased its lead back to seven points, but Claar connected on a three-pointer at 1:06 and Jones made a dunk just before the buzzer to tie the score at 50-50 at the intermission.

The second half was a much lower scoring affair, with the two teams combining for 55 points. Colby led for most of the period, despite Penn State Altoona playing them close the whole way.

The Mules began the second half by outscoring Penn State Altoona 6-0 over the first four minutes, before the Lions finally got on the board with a Jones layup at 15:58. A Poulton three-pointer increased Colby's lead to seven, 61-54, at the 14:38 mark, before a Jalen Martinez (Brooklyn, NY/New Hope Academy) foul shot, Sheetz layup, and Gentles jumper closed the gap to three, 62-59, four minutes later. Jones' basket at 9:09 got Penn State Altoona to within one, 62-61.

After Colby upped its advantage to six points, Penn State Altoona took its first lead of the half following an Abiah Charles (Orlando, FL/Wekiva) trey, two Jones foul shots, and a Charles jump shot, putting the Lions ahead 68-67 at the 5:59 mark. But the Lions' lead was short-lived, as Poulton put eight straight points on the board for the Mules to give Colby a 75-68 advantage with 2:51 to play. Free throws from Jones made it a five-point difference, before Lawson made a foul shot for the Mules that set the Colby lead at six, 76-70, with 1:18 remaining.

Penn State Altoona chipped away with a pair of Sheetz free throws, then forced a Colby turnover, which the Lions converted into a Sheetz layup to make it a two-point game, 76-74. After two Colby foul shots, Claar nailed a three-pointer with 19 seconds left to cut the Mules' lead to one, 78-77. Penn State Altoona's press forced another turnover with 10 seconds to play, but the Lions could not connect on a three-point attempt at the buzzer and took a one-point loss.

"This was still a great trip with a lot of good memories. We played some really good basketball at times, and we proved we could compete against good programs from good leagues," said McGreal. "Now, we have two days to get ready for the biggest game of the season on Tuesday, a date up the mountain against that other school in our league up there, and start our conference run 1-0."

Penn State Altoona men's basketball opens its Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference schedule on the road this upcoming Tuesday, November 26, at 5:30 p.m. That evening, the Lions will make the short trek into Cambria County, where they will face nearby rival Mount Aloysius College to start their league schedule.