As it prepares to enter its 2022-23 schedule, the Penn State Altoona men's basketball team is aiming to take care of some unfinished business.

The Lions accomplished many program firsts last year, including setting a team single season record for wins (19) and claiming their first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference co-regular season championship with a 13-3 record against league opponents. But a loss in the semifinal round of the AMCC Tournament brought Penn State Altoona's promising conference postseason to a halt, and the Lions now enter the 2022-23 campaign seeking redemption.

"The end of last year left a bitter taste in our mouths after not being able to finish off an incredible season by winning our conference tournament and advancing to the NCAAs," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal, who enters his sixth year and comes off of a season in which he was voted the AMCC Coach of the Year. "But we have to understand that last year's team is in the past, and though we have a lot of pieces returning from last year's regular season champion team, we are missing a handful of guys who contributed and will be relying on a couple newcomers to fill those vacancies to the best of their abilities."

Penn State Altoona will lean heavily on its core starters, a group that coalesced into the team's regular starting five by the second half of last season. That group consists of senior guard/forward Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge), senior guards Robbie Hicks (Rockledge, FL/Rockledge), Alex McClellan (York, PA/West York), and Saivon Word (Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglass), and sophomore forward PJ Charles (Altoona, PA/Altoona).

Harman was a first-team All-AMCC pick and All-ECAC Division III pick last season, was selected as the AMCC Defensive Player of the Year, and was chosen as the conference's Preseason Player of the Year heading into this season. He ranked among the top players in the conference last season statistically, including being first in blocks (38) and blocks per game (1.4), second in defensive rebounds (137) and total rebounds (185), sixth in offensive rebounds (48) and total rebounds per game (6.9), ninth in free throws made (78), and 11th in field goals made (129) and points (346).

Charles, Hicks, and Word joined Harman on the All-AMCC squad last season as third-team selections. Charles was second in the conference in offensive rebounds (60), third in field goal percentage (57.1), fifth in free throws made (97), seventh in rebounds per game (6.8), eighth in total rebounds (164) and points per 40 minutes (22.3), and 10th in defensive rebounds (104). Hicks finished fourth in the conference in steals (37), eighth in three-pointers made (45), 10th in steals per game (1.4), and 13th in points (331), while Word was third in the league in assists (91) and assists per game (4.0), seventh in steals (36) and steals per game (1.6), and 10th in free throws made (68).

McClellan added an effective outside shooting presence to the lineup, as he finished 16th in the AMCC in three-pointers made (34) last season while being 21st in three-point percentage (35.1), and he was also seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7), 11th in steals (33), and 17th in assists (55). Junior forward Mason Bush (Pittsburgh, PA/Seneca Valley) also emerged as a strong scoring threat for the Lions last year while ranking sixth in the AMCC in free throws made (94), 10th in free throw percentage (78.3), 11th in offensive rebounds (43), and 15th in points per 40 minutes (19.6).

"We've obviously got our five starters back from the end of last year, led by Druw, Saivon, Robbie, and PJ, with Alex, another vet, hopefully continuing his hot shooting from last season," said McGreal. "Mason, who really came on toward the end of last year as a big-time scoring option for us, will also be asked to do more."

The team also welcomes an impact transfer from nearby AMCC rival Mount Aloysius College, with sophomore forward Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) joining the Lions this year on the heels of an impressive freshman campaign with the Mounties last winter. Jones was second in the AMCC in blocks (34) and field goal percentage (57.7) last season, and he was also fifth in rebounds per game (7.1) and offensive rebounds (52), sixth in total rebounds (170), and eighth in defensive rebounds (118). Additionally, Penn State Altoona will get its first look at sophomore forward James Simples III (Philadelphia, PA/Lower Merion) in regular season action, as his previous year with the team was the COVID-abbreviated 2021 spring schedule.

"We're very excited about the addition of Dwayne, a transfer from Mount who finished the year high up in several defensive categories," said McGreal. "We also have the return of James, who played for us in the COVID-shortened season. He took last year off to work on academics, but he is someone that we will lean on throughout the season as a vital cog in our system."

Several other returners will be expected to contribute this season, including junior guards Chris Jarosz (Toronto, ON/Andrews Osborne Academy) and K.J. Futrell (Altoona, PA/Altoona), junior center Jarrett Gardner (Live Oak, FL/Suwannee), and sophomore guards Caleb Pierce (Altoona, PA/Altoona) and Justin Sheetz (Eldersburg, MD/Liberty).

"Chris will be looked upon to be a threat from the three-point line, and Justin will be expected to provide quality minutes at backup guard," McGreal said. "Jarrett will be looked upon to provide a scoring punch down low and provide positive minutes when asked, and local products KJ and Caleb will add depth at the guard position."

Among the freshmen, guards Aidan Johnston (Enid, OK/Garber) and Donovan Prophet (Sandy Spring, MD/Sherwood) and forward Blair Eckley-Jones (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) have the potential to make some significant contributions this season.

"Newcomers Blair, Aidan, and Donovan will look to grow their roles throughout the season as they familiarize themselves with our system," McGreal stated.

McGreal and the Lions have high expectations for the upcoming season, a sentiment that was echoed by other head coaches around the AMCC. On Wednesday, Penn State Altoona was voted into first place in the AMCC Preseason Coaches' Poll for the first time in program history.

"As a coach, I'm very proud to be picked by our peers as preseason favorites. It really shows the respect that our program has earned now," said McGreal. "However, with high expectations comes high pressure. We not only need to be ready for everybody's best punch within the conference, but we have also set ourselves up with one of the toughest NCAA Division III non-conference schedules in our region."

Prior to getting its 14-game AMCC schedule underway in early January, Penn State Altoona men's basketball will face a challenging slate of non-conference teams in November and December. The Lions open their season at home on Tuesday, November 8 against defending Presidents' Athletic Conference champion Washington & Jefferson College, which starts a gauntlet of tough non-conference matchups through the end of the calendar year.

"We hope that competing against top Division III programs early in the season will prepare us mentally and physically," said McGreal. "We hope that those games will prepare us for what we were unable to do last season, and that is finish our business."