ALTOONA, Pa. - Sophomore Kirk Peters (Harrisburg, PA/Susquehanna Township) scored 24 points on 11-of-15 shooting, and the Penn State Altoona men's basketball team held off a pesky Penn State Behrend squad for a 56-52 victory Saturday afternoon at the Adler Gym.

Held to just two field goals in the first half, Peters scored 20 points over the final 20 minutes and combined with senior Colin Geiger (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) to make three crucial foul shots in the final 34 seconds to give Penn State Altoona just its second win over Penn State Behrend in 21 all-time meetings.

The hosts led by as many as 10 in the second half and owned a 45-35 lead with 8:33 remaining.  But Behrend scored 10 straight points to tie the game with five minutes to play and grabbed a 46-45 lead on a pair of free throws by Dan Simpson.

The advantage seesawed back and forth before a Peters lay up at the 1:13 mark put Altoona ahead 53-50.  Behrend's Chris Saltsman answered with two foul shots 11 seconds later and trailed 54-52 with 34 ticks on the clock.  But a turnover led to two Geiger freebees in the waning seconds that sent Penn State Altoona to a 7-4 overall record and 4-1 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference mark.

Geiger finished with 13 in the victory and is now just 61 points away from reaching 1,000 for his career.

The Erie Lions were fronted by Adam Potter's 14 points and five rebounds.  Saltsman chipped in 13 for Behrend, which made only 1-of-10 triples in the first half.

The first half was a defensive struggle, but Penn State Altoona went 5-of-10 from 3-point range to maintain a slim lead most of the period.  A Geiger trey with under two minutes stretched the margin to 23-14, but two free throws and a Saltsman desperation jumper just before the halftime horn made it 23-18 at intermission.

Behrend shot 16-of-34 for 47.8% from the field on the day, while Altoona managed 19 field goals in 48 attempts (39.6%).  The visitors made 17-of-18 at the charity stripe, where both teams shot over 80%.

Penn State Altoona is back in action this Wednesday, January 14, for an 8:00 PM contest at Frostburg State.