ALFRED, N.Y. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team is off to its best start to a season in program history, as the Lions posted their fifth win of the schedule in a 106-95 victory over Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Alfred State College at the Orvis Gymnasium on Sunday.

Penn State Altoona (5-1, 1-0 AMCC) had a standout day on offense in its first AMCC game of the 2021-22 season, which resulted in the Lions' fifth win in their first six games of the schedule for the first time in team history. The team tied for the second-most free throws made in a game (34) in program history, and the Lions also recorded the fourth-best field goal percentage in a game (62.3 percent) and scored the tenth-most points in a game (106) in team history.

"I am really excited to get our AMCC schedule started with a big road win," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "Winning on the road in this conference is always tough, so I am very proud of the team for staying resilient when their backs were against the wall and playing their best defensive basketball to finish with a win."

The Lions' Robbie Hicks (Rockledge, FL/Rockledge) led all scorers in the game with a season-high 29 points while distributing three assists. Saivon Word (Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Dougalss) scored a season-best 18 points off the bench, led all players in steals with six, and tied for the team lead in assists with five. Hicks was 10-for-14 overall from the floor, while Word went 5-for-9.

PJ Charles (Altoona, PA/Altoona) delivered his second collegiate double-double, leading all players in the game with 13 rebounds while scoring 12 points. Mason Bush (Pittsburgh, PA/Seneca Valley) tied his season-high with 14 points off the bench, going 5-for-5 from the field while adding five rebounds and four assists.

"Robbie had another big night, especially in the first half, and hit some clutch baskets in the end to help seal the win. PJ was a monster on the boards and made some excellent plays down the stretch, as well," said McGreal. "Off the bench, Mason had big plays and Saivon also had six steals."

Alex McClellan (York, PA/West York) contributed 12 points and five assists for Penn State Altoona, and Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) scored 10 points to go along with five rebounds and a game-high three blocks.

Alfred State (3-4, 0-1 AMCC) got 21 points from Josh Reding to lead the home team's scoring efforts. Basheem Wilkerson totaled 13 points off the bench, Paris Jamison and Ryan Rosa scored 12 points apiece, and Taivon Williams added 11 points for the Pioneers.

Penn State Altoona performed well on offense during the first half, hitting 61.5 percent of its shot attempts from the floor. The Lions went 5-for-8 from three-point range and also capitalized on 15-of-22 attempts from the free throw line. However, Alfred State worked its way to a 57-52 halftime lead by the conclusion of a high-scoring period.

Early three-pointers by Hicks and McClellan, coupled with free throws from Harman, helped Penn State Altoona to an 8-4 lead two minutes into the game. Less than four minutes later, back-to-back treys from Hicks and McClellan boosted the Lions' lead into double digits, 18-6, and scores from Y'shua Bragg (Pittsburgh, PA/Carrick) and Word increased Penn State Altoona's lead to 18 points, 26-8, by the 12:01 mark.

Alfred State trimmed its deficit down to seven points with a 16-5 run, capped by Reding's layup at 9:37. But Penn State Altoona responded by outscoring the Pioneers 10-2 over the next two-and-a-half minutes, including Harman's dunk at 7:03 that brought the Lions' advantage back to 15 points, 41-26.

The momentum again swung in Alfred State's direction, however, as the home team finished the half by outscoring the Lions 31-11 over the final seven minutes. Jamison's three-pointer at 3:18 brought the Pioneers to within one possession, and his layup at 2:46 knotted the score 47-47. Williams connected on a three-pointer at 1:56 to put Alfred State ahead by one, 50-49, and layups from Rosa late in the period made it 55-52. Wilkerson hit a jumper in transition at the buzzer to give Alfred State a 57-52 lead at the break.

Penn State Altoona maneuvered back into the lead early in the second half, as the Lions continued their offensive success by shooting 17-for-27 (63.0 percent) from the field and 19-for-23 (82.6 percent) at the charity stripe during the half.

Charles' layup and foul shot opened the scoring for the Lions in the period, and layups by Harman and Hicks cut the Pioneers' lead to one. Word's fastbreak layup at 15:44 got Penn State Altoona back on top, 61-60. McClellan converted on a three-point play at 14:57 to put his team up by five, and Word's three-pointer at 12:05 kept the difference at five, 72-67. Two layups from Word helped increase his team's lead to eight, 79-71, with 9:34 to go.

Alfred State countered by chipping away at the Lions' lead over the next several minutes and eventually tied the score 88-88 at 2:57 on a pair of Josh Romero free throws. But Charles followed with a layup to put Penn State Altoona back on top, and Bush's layup and foul shot at 1:36 gave the Lions a 93-88 advantage. Scores by Hicks on consecutive possessions upped the Lions' lead to nine, 97-88, with 49 seconds remaining.

Word, Hicks, and McClellan combined for nine free throws over the final 39 seconds of the contest to help Penn State Altoona ice the victory.

"Now, we have to focus our attention to the best team in the conference these past five years for our game this week," stated McGreal. "First home conference game of the season on Wednesday, and we hope to see the stands packed."

Penn State Altoona men's basketball returns to action at home this Wednesday, December 1, taking on AMCC opponent La Roche University at 8:00 p.m. in Adler Arena.