(BETHANY, WV:) Three players reached double figures, and
sophomore Sean Stewart (West Chester, PA/Unionville) scored a career-high 14
points to lead Penn State Altoona past Bethany College (WV) 68-65 on Monday
evening. The Lions won their fourth straight game and improved to 5-4
overall while the host Bison fell to 5-4.
Stewart converted a lay up with 2:32 remaining to give the
visitors a 66-63 lead. Bethany's Brody Jackson sank two free throws a
minute later to cut the deficit to one, but after a Zach Spitz (Harrisburg,
PA/Susquehanna Township) bucket extended the Altoona advantage back to three
with 20 seconds left, Jackson missed two potential game-tying three pointers in
the final seven seconds to set the final.
Senior Quintin Dziabo (Cresson, PA/Penn Cambria) also scored 14
in the winning effort, and junior Colin Geiger (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) added
12 off the bench. Altoona shot 44% from the field and limited the Bison to
just 33.9% shooting including 8-27 in the second half.
The Lion reserves outscored Bethany's bench 37-6 and, as a team,
Altoona held a 28-18 advantage in the paint. The game featured five ties
and seven lead changes before Dziabo's lay in with 7:12 left put Altoona ahead for
good.
Bethany jumped out to a 16-8 lead and held a 21-20 advantage
with 10:58 to play in the opening half. But Penn State Altoona would use a
15-5 run over the next six minutes to stake a 35-26 edge at the 6:15 mark.
The Lions led 38-32 at halftime and used a Mike Dancer
(Montgomeryville, PA/North Penn) three pointer just minutes into the second
period to secure its biggest lead at 42-32. Dancer has hit at least one
three pointer in every game this season.
The Bison were fronted by Jackson's game-high 23 points and five
treys. Teammates Marcus Adams and Pete Petkovski added 14 and 11 points,
respectively. Bethany shot just 8-30 from beyond the arc (26.7%) but did
turn 17 Lion turnovers into 27 points.
Altoona had beaten Bethany just once in nine meetings dating
back to 1998 and lost to the Bison twice last season including a double overtime
thriller in the Juniata Tip-Off Tournament.
Riding a four game winning streak, Penn State Altoona will
prepare for soon-to-be AMCC member Franciscan University this Friday evening,
December 14. Tip time is 8:00 PM at the Adler Gym.
CONTACT: Penn
State Altoona Sports Information
Steve Crider -- SID
814-949-5173
sac310@psu.edu
