Junior guard Lorenzo Carter (Limerick, PA/Swenson), of Penn State Altoona men's basketball, shoots a jumper during the team's practice on Monday in the Adler Gym.

The Lions begin their 2009-2010 schedule on the road against Washington & Jefferson College on November 16 at 8:00 PM. They host the Blue and White game on Wednesday November 11 at 7:00 PM.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference released its preseason men's and women's basketball polls on Thursday.

Penn State Altoona men's basketball was ranked seventh out of 11 AMCC teams. The Lions finished fifth in the conference last season with an 11-7 record, 14-13 overall. Junior forward Kirk Peters (Harrisburg, PA/Susquehanna Twp.) and senior guard Zach Spitz (Harrisburg, PA/Susquehanna Twp.) were highlighted as players to watch.

The women's basketball team was voted into a second place ranking in the poll. The Lady Lions finished the regular season in second place in the AMCC last year with a 13-5 conference record and a 16-10 mark overall. Senior guard/forward Alicia Glasser (Marion Center, PA/Marion Center) and junior forward Tamara Thomas (Altoona, PA/Altoona) were featured as players to watch on the team this season.

The poll is comprised of votes from men's and women's basketball coaches within the AMCC. For complete rankings, click the links below:

AMCC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

AMCC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll

ALTOONA, Pa. - Penn State Altoona men's basketball returns to the court Thursday as team tryouts commence. Once the roster is finalized, the team will begin its preparations for the 2009-2010 season under new head coach Billy Clapper.

The Lions' first contest of the season is a scrimmage at Penn State New Kensington on November 9, and the team officially begins its campaign on November 16 against Washington & Jefferson College.

ALTOONA, Pa. – Billy Clapper has been hired as the head coach of men’s basketball for Penn State Altoona. Clapper was an assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown from 2007 to 2009, helping the team to back-to-back NCAA Division II Tournament berths. The Mountain Cats earned the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship in 2008 and the WVIAC tournament championship in 2009 while they posted a 47-16 record during his time with the program. 

Prior to joining the UPJ staff, Clapper held assistant men’s basketball coaching positions at Penn State Altoona from 2005 to 2006, where he was active in recruiting some of the players currently on the team, and Indiana State University, where he worked as a graduate assistant from 2006 to 2007.

Clapper began his college playing career at Mount Aloysius College and continued on to Division I Youngstown State University. He holds a master’s degree in Educational Technology from Indiana State University.

Clapper has delivered instruction as a clinician at over 225 basketball camps, including camps at universities such as Dayton, Duquesne, Louisville, North Carolina State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rhode Island, Rutgers, West Virginia and Xavier. He is the founder of Billy Clapper Basketball LLC., and he created the instructional basketball video “Ball Handling at Its Best.”

Clapper was also the regional basketball coordinator of the Pennsylvania Keystone State Games, where he served as a head coach, planned team tryouts and oversaw the recruitment of athletes in a seven county region.

Clapper is a strong advocate for community involvement by his players.

“Billy has a true passion for the game of basketball, and he brings a great deal of enthusiasm to our program,” said Penn State Altoona Athletics Director Fredina Ingold. “We look forward to him continuing the growth and success of our men’s basketball program.”

ALTOONA, Pa. - In the final NCAA Division III men's basketball statistical standings, Penn State Altoona was well-represented in a number of offensive and defensive categories.

Senior Colin Geiger (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) finished the season ranked 17th in the nation in free-throw percentage at an 88.5% rate.  During the season, Geiger also led the team in scoring (15.0 ppg), total free-throws made (69), and total points (405).

Along with Geiger, junior guard Zack Spitz made the NCAA's list with the 38th best assist-to-turnover ratio in the nation.  His 2.12-to-1 ratio tied him with Skidmore's Gerard O'Shea and  New York University's D.J. Glavan.

As a team, Altoona ranked 19th in the country in opponent's three-point field goal percentage at 29.4%.  The Lions also ranked 60th in steals per game (9.0), 47th in turnover margin (3.0), and 33rd in scoring defense (63.2 ppg).

Penn State Altoona finished the season with a 14-13 overall record and an 11-7 conference record.  The Lions made the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament at the end of the season, but the squad was bounced by top-seeded Cabrini College 86-73 in the first round.