BRADFORD, Pa. – The No. 3 seed Penn State Altoona men's basketball team punched its ticket to the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship game on Friday night, when the Lions handled No. 2 seed Pitt-Greensburg for a 99-78 victory in an AMCC Tournament semifinal game at Pitt-Bradford's KOA Arena.

The Lions (18-9) worked their way out to a 43-31 halftime advantage, withstood a push from Pitt-Greensburg (18-8) midway through the second half, then grew their lead to as many as 24 points. Penn State Altoona shot 53.6 percent from the floor as a team and blocked 11 shots, a total that ties for the fifth-most blocks in a game by a Lions team.

Now, Penn State Altoona will face No. 1 seed Pitt-Bradford on the Panthers' home court tomorrow, Saturday, March 1, at 3 p.m. in the AMCC Championship game. It marks the second time in three seasons that Penn State Altoona is playing in the conference title game.

"Obviously, we are ecstatic about coming out and taking care of business against a really good Greensburg team who had won 11 in a row. Big time effort tonight by Dwayne – he was a monster on both ends of the floor," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "Now, we get another chance at getting an AMCC tourney title and a trip to the NCAA tourney. Hope some fans can come up and support and hopefully see some history. Go Lions!"

Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) notched his ninth double-double of the season for Penn State Altoona, leading all players in Friday's game with 29 points and 15 rebounds. Jones also blocked a game-high six shots and tied for the game lead in assists with five.

Kal-El Gentles (Austin, TX/San Juan Diego) scored 18 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists, and Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage) finished with 16 points, four boards, and four helpers. Nehemiah Frye (King George, VA/King George) had 15 points and five rebounds, and Michael Baskerville (Damascus, MD/Damascus) provided 12 points off the bench.

Pitt-Greensburg was led in scoring by Jackson Byer, who finished with 19 points. Joziah Wyatt-Taylor scored 15 points, while Ty Keffer and Matthew Marinchak scored 12 apiece for the Bobcats.

Penn State Altoona scored the game's first six points, getting two baskets from Jones and one by Frye. Pitt-Greensburg countered with a 7-0 run, as layups from Rozich and Byer, along with a Wyatt-Taylor three-pointer, put the Bobcats ahead just over five minutes into the contest. But the Lions came back with a run of their own, scoring the next 11 points, a stretch capped by Frye's layup at 11:06 that put Penn State Altoona up 17-9.

Pitt-Greensburg outscored the Lions 9-2 over the next two-plus minutes, and Wyatt-Taylor's basket at 8:49 narrowed Penn State Altoona's lead to 19-18. But the Lions answered with three-pointers from Gentles and Claar, and a pair of Jones foul shots at 6:55 boosted Penn State Altoona's lead to nine points, 27-18.

Baskerville made layups on back-to-back possessions later in the half to extend the Lions' advantage to 33-21, and a Jones jump shot and two Frye free throws kept the difference at 12, 39-27, with 2:28 left in the period. Gentles hit a jump shot with nine seconds left, and Penn State Altoona went into halftime holding a 43-31 lead.

The Lions continued scoring well as the game moved into the second half. Two buckets from Jones and a Frye layup increased Penn State Altoona's lead to 16 points, 49-33, a minute and a half into the period. A Claar jump shot and Jones dunk set the Lions' advantage at 53-38, and a Jones layup at 15:44 made it 55-42.

Pitt-Greensburg chipped away at its deficit over the next several minutes, trimming it to four. Bigley's jump shot made it an 11-point game, 59-48, and a Marinchak jumper at 13:58 made it a 10-point difference, 60-50. Marinchak connected from three-point range at 11:45 to lower Penn State Altoona's lead to 64-58, and a Byer layup at 11:13 made it a four-point game, 64-60.

Penn State Altoona struck back with a Baskerville three-pointer and Jones layup to provide some cushion, making it 69-60. Baskerville hit another trey, and Jones scored another layup to put the Lions' lead at 11 points, and Gentles' jump shot at 8:28 got Penn State Altoona's lead to 13 points, 76-63.

The Lions continued to grow their lead over the remainder of the game. Jones' jump shot at 7:10 made it 80-65, before an Abiah Charles (Orlando, FL/Wekiva) layup, Frye three-pointer, and pair of Gentles free throws upped Penn State Altoona's advantage to 19 points, 87-68, with 5:36 to go. Claar's trey at 4:17 gave the Lions a 92-68 lead, their largest of the evening. Pitt-Greensburg got no closer than 19 points the rest of the way, as Penn State Altoona successfully closed out a strong playoff win.

The Lions finished with a 45-40 edge in rebounds over Pitt-Greensburg, and Penn State Altoona also led 58-38 in points in the paint and 14-9 in fastbreak points.

Now, Penn State Altoona will face the top seed in the AMCC, with the Lions in search of their first-ever conference championship win. The team's total of 18 wins is the second-most in a season in program history.