(ALTOONA, PA:) Penn State Altoona brothers Curtis and
Colin Geiger (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) scored 17 and 13 points, respectively,
and the Lions shot 46% from the field to hold off a pesky Frostburg State club
74-66 Wednesday night at the Adler Gym. With the victory, Altoona improved
to 7-6 overall and 4-2 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.
Frostburg dropped to 3-11 and 2-5 in the AMCC.
The host Lions held a slim 60-59 advantage with less than five
minutes remaining before lay ups by Curtis Geiger and Justin Gasbarre
(Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) stretched
it back to five. After a Korwan Harris triple for the Bobcats sliced the
deficit to 66-64 at the 1:47 mark, Altoona would score the next eight points and
connect on 6-6 foul shots down the stretch to seal the win.
Senior forward Quintin Dziabo's (Cresson, PA/Penn Cambria)
bucket began a 10-4 run over the final five minutes of the first half as the
Lions opened up a 36-29 lead at the break. Dziabo, who finished with seven
rebounds, and fellow big man Kirk Peters (Harrisburg, PA/Susquehanna Township)
teamed up for 14 first half points on seven combined field goals.
Frostburg shot 46% from the field but only 4-13 from behind the
arc. The Bobcats also went 14-19 at the charity stripe including 9-11 in
the second half.
Altoona made its first five field goals of the game and had
early leads of 6-0 and 11-5. The Lions forced FSU into 19 turnovers and
scored 16 points via the fast break. Of Penn State Altoona's 28 field
goals on the night, 19 were assisted.
Dziabo finished with 10 points for the victors, who were 12-17
from the free throw line and 6-15 from three point land. Point guard Zach
Spitz (Harrisburg, PA/Susquehanna Township) finished with seven points, six
rebounds, eight assists, and made 4-4 foul shots in the final minute.
The Bobcats were fronted by Brian Green's 18 points and four
assists. Teammate Jade Belt recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10
rebounds while Blake Walker added 10. Both teams went 10 players deep as a
total of 20 players registered at least 10 minutes of floor time.
Penn State Altoona got a big boost from its bench, outscoring
the Bobcat reserves 30-15. Sophomore Sean Stewart (West Chester,
PA/Unionville) contributed eight and senior sharpshooter Mike Dancer
(Montgomeryville, PA/North Penn) added six on a pair of three pointers.
This Saturday, January 19, the Lions will be back at the Adler
Gym for a 3:00 PM date with Medaille. Saturday marks the annual Take A Kid
to the Game Day promotion and includes a free youth basketball clinic that
morning at 10:00 AM.
CONTACT: Penn
State Altoona Sports Information
Steve Crider -- SID
814-949-5173
sac310@psu.edu
