ALTOONA, Pa. - Points were difficult to come by, but the Penn State Altoona men's basketball team placed three players in double figures and made just enough plays to hold off a pesky La Roche squad, 55-49, in a defensive battle Saturday afternoon at the Adler Gym.

Sophomore Kirk Peters (Harrisburg, PA/Susquehanna Township) finished with a team-high 13 points, senior Colin Geiger (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) added 12, and freshman Travis White (Philadelphia, PA/Simon Gratz) netted 11 big points off the bench for the Lions, which shot 46.8% from the floor (22-of-47) on the day.

The Redhawks actually outscored the Lions by five in the second half, but Altoona's 28-17 lead at intermission proved too much to overcome.  After a slow start, the Lions caught fire and finished the period shooting over 52% (12-of-23), while La Roche made just 7-of-21 first-half baskets.

Leading 20-17, Penn State Altoona closed the opening period on an 8-0 spurt that included 3-pointers by Geiger and White.  La Roche cut the deficit to six on a number of occasions over the final 20 minutes and got to within four points three different times. 

A Steve Lucas trey with 16 seconds left brought the Redhawks to within 53-49, but foul shots by Peters and Geiger coupled with two missed shots set the final and helped the Lions improve to 12-7 overall and 9-3 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.

The Redhawks were led by 6-9 center Joel McIntosh, who scored 20 points on 10-for-13 shooting.  Lucas finished with nine, and Dylan Grazier, the conference's second-leading scorer at over 17 points per game, was held to just seven points and two field goals.

Altoona trailed 8-4 in the early going before an 8-0 run capped by a Justin Gasbarre (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) jumper put the Lions back in front 12-8 at the 7:59 mark.  The victors held their biggest advantage with 12 minutes remaining in the second half when a Zach Spitz (Harrisburg, PA/Susquehanna Township) lay up made the score 36-24.

Neither team shot well from beyond the arc, firing a combined 5-for-30.  Altoona, usually solid at the foul line, went 9-of-16, but La Roche only attempted nine free throws on the afternoon.  Bench points proved a major factor as the Lion reserves outscored the Redhawk subs 21-4.

Penn State Altoona is back in action this Wednesday, February 4, for an 8:00 PM home date with Pitt-Bradford at the Adler Gym.