GREENSBURG, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team suffered its third Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference loss of the season on Wednesday night, when the Lions were defeated 73-69 by Pitt-Greensburg in the Chambers Hall Gym.

Penn State Altoona (11-8, 7-3 AMCC) led for the majority of the first half, including holding a 10-point lead midway through the period. But Pitt-Greensburg (12-7, 6-4 AMCC) cut its deficit to two points by halftime, then seized the lead in the second half. The Bobcats clung to a modest advantage throughout the half and closed the game with a four-point win over the Lions.

"Frustrated at the way we couldn't close. No one to blame but ourselves," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "We didn't play team offense at all. Forced shots, tried to do too much, and then when we needed a bucket late, no one could finish."

Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage) put up a game-high, season-high 20 points for Penn State Altoona while securing a team-high seven rebounds and leading all players in the contest with five steals. Kal-El Gentles (Austin, TX/San Juan Diego) scored 13 points and distributed a game-best eight assists to go along with five rebounds and four steals.

Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) finished with 16 points and surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his Lions career. Earlier this season, Jones reached 1,000 points for his overall collegiate career, and in Wednesday's game, he became the ninth player in Penn State Altoona men's basketball history to achieve 1,000 points as a Lion.

Pitt-Greensburg got a double-double performance from Trent Rozich, who finished with 15 points and a game-leading 14 rebounds. Matthew Marinchak also scored 15 for the Bobcats, and Jahmir Collins had 12 points.

Jones provided Penn State Altoona's first four points of the game, getting to the 1,000-point mark with the team after his two early baskets. A Jones dunk and Claar three-pointer helped the Lions to a 14-8 lead by 13:57, and a pair of foul shots from Gentles at 12:02 made it 18-8.

After Pitt-Greensburg trimmed its deficit to three points, a Mason Kargo (Portage, PA/Portage) three-pointer and Claar layup helped boost the Lions' lead back to nine points, 25-16, by the 7:41 mark. Gentles converted on a three-point play at 4:29 to keep Penn State Altoona's lead at nine, 30-21.

But the Bobcats ended the half by outscoring the Lions 13-6 to make it a two-point game by the break. A pair of Ryan Kull three-pointers brought Pitt-Greensburg to within three, 30-27, by the 1:49 mark, and a trey from Marinchak with six seconds left in the half made it 36-34.

Pitt-Greensburg opened the second half with back-to-back three-pointers from Collins and Marinchak to take its first lead since the early stages of the game. Collins' jumper at 16:10 put the home team up by two, 47-45, and four points from Rozich increased the advantage to 52-45 by 14:28. The Bobcats nursed a slim lead over the next several minutes and remained ahead by seven, 61-54, following a Marinchak jump shot at 7:33. Penn State Altoona closed the gap to one, but the Bobcats increased their lead back to seven, 67-60, with 4:09 to go.

Penn State Altoona continued to hang around, but the Lions were never able to get over the hump late in the second half. A Michael Baskerville (Damascus, MD/Damascus) layup and Claar three-pointer cut the Pitt-Greensburg lead to two, 69-67, with 18 seconds left, and a Jones basket at the 9-second mark kept his team within two, 71-69.

But Pitt-Greensburg tacked two more points on to its total with a pair of Marinchak free throws, and the Bobcats held on to hand the Lions a tough conference loss.

Penn State Altoona finished the contest with a lopsided advantage in turnovers, committing just eight to Pitt-Greensburg's 22. The Lions also outscored the home team 19-6 off turnovers, 34-24 in the paint, and 20-4 on the fastbreak.

The men's basketball team returns home for its next game on Wednesday, February 5, when the Lions will host nearby AMCC rival Mount Aloysius College at 5:30 p.m. Penn State Altoona will host its annual Sideline Cancer Night in support of the local Griffith Family Foundation.

"We'll take a little time to regroup and get ready for the final three weeks of the regular season, starting with Mount and the Sideline Cancer game," said McGreal.