Men’s Basketball Rolls to Senior Day Win
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team sent off its two senior players with a lopsided Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference victory on Saturday afternoon, when the Lions overpowered Alfred State College 103-68 in Adler Arena.
Penn State Altoona (14-8, 10-3 AMCC) worked through a slow start to build a 42-21 lead by halftime. In the second half, the Lions clicked on all cylinders, when they put 61 points on the board, shot 64.1 percent from the floor, and led by as many as 39. Penn State Altoona won the turnover battle by 13, forcing Alfred State (3-20, 2-12 AMCC) into 21 giveaways.
Before tipoff, the Lions recognized their two senior players, forward Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) and guard/forward Dylan Darkwah (Burlington, NJ/Highland Park), in a Senior Day ceremony.
"So proud of our team effort today. What a way for our seniors to go out. Both Dwayne and Dylan have been huge contributors to our success as a program over the past four years," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "Dylan has been one of the best teammates we have had here, consistently working hard and through multiple injuries. His commitment to our program has been special. Dwayne has obviously been a dominant force on the floor since he came on campus. His name is littered all over the record books, and he showed again today how dominant he can be at times. We are so lucky to have had him and so proud of everything he has accomplished."
Jones led the Lions with a team-high 25 points and posted game highs with 10 rebounds and five blocks. Fellow senior Darkwah had three points and two assists.
Nehemiah Frye (King George, VA/King George) provided 15 points off the bench, and Jalen Martinez (Brooklyn, NY/New Hope Academy) added nine points and seven rebounds off the bench. Braelen Cage (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary), Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage), and Elliot Johansson (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium) chipped in eight points apiece.
15 different players scored for the Lions, who finished with 42 made field goals, tying for the eighth-most in a game in team history. Penn State Altoona also had 17 steals, the 10th-most in a game.
Alfred State got a game-high 30 points from Michael Miller, while Eli Taft and Darius Cunningham scored 13 and 11, respectively, for the Pioneers.
Six points from Jones helped the Lions to a 6-0 advantage through the first 3:10 of the game, and a Mason Kargo (Portage, PA/Portage) three-pointer and Frye jump shot got the home team's lead to seven, 11-4, by 14:05. After Miller made a pair of foul shots for Alfred State, Penn State Altoona ripped off a 12-0 run, capped by Martinez's three-point play at 8:38 that made it 23-6.
Jones' dunk at 4:50 put the Lions' lead at 35-16, and a Johansson three-pointer just over a minute later made it 38-16. Penn State Altoona got baskets from Johansson and Abiah Charles (Orlando, FL/Wekiva) later in the period and took a 42-21 advantage into the break.
Darkwah connected on a three-pointer at 19:06 of the second half for Penn State Altoona's first points of the period, sparking a 20-11 run that ended with a Kal-El Gentles (Austin, TX/San Juan Diego) dunk at 14:41 to give the Lions a 20-point lead, 62-32. Baskets by Jones and Frye boosted Penn State Altoona's lead to 33, 72-39, by the 11:25 mark
The Lions continued to expand their lead, and five minutes later, a three-pointer and layup by Cage on consecutive possessions put them up 86-47, their largest lead of the day.
In addition to winning the turnover battle 8-21, Penn State Altoona finished with statistical advantages over Alfred State in rebounds (40-34), assists (24-8), points off turnovers (36-7), second-chance points (19-7), points in the paint (56-28), fastbreak points (20-4), and bench points (58-20).
The Lions have a quick turnaround for their next game, returning to action tomorrow, Sunday, February 16, at 1 p.m. for a home game against AMCC opponent Carlow University. That date is the makeup of last Wednesday evening's postponement.
"Back to business tomorrow, as we have to get ready for a tough Carlow squad for our last home game of the season," said McGreal. "It's our food drive game, so please bring canned goods for the needy and you'll get free entry. Go Lions!"
