BRADFORD, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team had its four-game win streak halted on Wednesday night, when the Lions were dealt a 103-79 loss by first-place Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Pitt-Bradford in the KOA Arena.

Pitt-Bradford (21-2, 14-1 AMCC) took the early lead and never looked back. The Panthers led by nine at the half, 44-35, then put 59 points on the board in the second half to finish with a 24-point decision over Penn State Altoona (15-9, 11-4 AMCC).

"We knew Bradford was going to be hungry to play again after suffering their first conference loss of the season, and we were going to have to play really well to pull it off," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "We played poorly, especially on defense."

The Lions got a game-high 24 points from Kal-El Gentles (Austin, TX/San Juan Diego), helped by going 11-for-14 at the foul line. Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) had 10 points, six rebounds, and two blocks, and Jalen Martinez (Brooklyn, NY/New Hope Academy) provided 10 points and six rebounds off the bench.

Pitt-Bradford got 23 points from Jeremy Rodriguez, while Jesse Laster had a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Jamarion Butler added 15 points for the Panthers.

Pitt-Bradford scored the game's first five points and never trailed the rest of the way. A Xander Norris three-pointer at 16:15 put the home team up 12-4, and the Panthers increased their lead to 11 points, 19-8, after two Rodriguez foul shots at 13:21. Laster's dunk and Rodriguez's jumper gave Bradford a 12-point lead, 27-15, at 8:52, and a Keshon Kittrell three-pointer at 7:05 upped the difference to 16 points, 35-19.

Penn State Altoona pushed back to trim its deficit to nine points by the intermission. Gentles' three-pointer at 6:08 and layup at 5:48 got the Lions to within 11, 35-24, and Zion Bruce (Kihei, HI/Maryknoll) connected on a three-pointer at 4:16 to make it a 10-point game, 37-27. Over the final 1:37 of the half, the Lions got a layup from Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage) and free throws from Abiah Charles (Orlando, FL/Wekiva) and Nehemiah Frye (King George, VA/King George), and Penn State Altoona went into the locker room down 44-35.

Early in the second half, Penn State Altoona got a layup from Claar and dunk from Jones to stay within 10 points, 49-39. Layups by Gentles set the Lions' deficit at 11 points, 54-43, by the 18:12 mark.

But Pitt-Bradford began to pull away after that. A layup by Rodriguez at 9:20 put the Panthers' lead at 20 points, 79-59, and the home team went on to lead by as many as 24 points.

Next up, Penn State Altoona men's basketball will close its regular season schedule on the road this Saturday, February 22, traveling to Pittsburgh to face AMCC foe La Roche University. Tipoff for that matchup is scheduled for 2 p.m.

"Now, we have to win Saturday at La Roche to solidify the number two seed," said McGreal. "I sure hope we are more hungry than what we showed tonight."