(ALTOONA, PA:) Freshman Kirk Peters (Harrisburg,
PA/Susquehanna Township) scored 15 points, and sophomore Zach Spitz (Harrisburg,
PA/Susquehanna Township) broke his own single game assists record as Penn State
Altoona raced past Franciscan 76-57 Friday night at the Adler Gym. The
Lions won their fifth consecutive game for the first time in program history and
improved to 6-4 while Franciscan fell to 1-10.
Peters had all of his points in the first half on 7-9
shooting. Spitz dished out all 12 of his assists in the first half and
recorded an assist on the Lions' first seven field goals of the game.
His previous career most was 11 against Mount Aloysius on January 15 of last
season. Teammates Colin Geiger (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) and Chad Zeigler (Mechanicsburg, PA/Mechanicsburg) each scored
10 as the Altoona bench accounted for 42 points.
After the visiting Barons cut the deficit to 48-43 with 13:03
left in the game, Altoona used a decisive 9-0 run that included a Geiger three pointer and four straight points by Lorenzo
Carter (Philadelphia, PA/Swenson) to grab a 57-43 advantage just three minutes
later. The lead would not dip below 12 and peaked at 23 points when
Zeigler hit the second of two free throws with 1:46 remaining.
The Lions never trailed in the game and outscored Franciscan
15-8 over the last seven minutes of the opening half to stake a 41-28
intermission lead. The Barons got within two (20-18) on a Matt Liedel lay
in midway through the first half but went scoreless the next three minutes as
Altoona completed a 6-0 run.
Chas Marks netted 20 points in the losing effort and nailed six
of the Barons' 10 three pointers. Nate Stanton added 17 for Franciscan,
who will join the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference next season.
Penn State Altoona got to the foul line 21 times and converted
16 freebees while Franciscan only made six trips to the charity stripe.
The hosts also held a 36-14 advantage in the painted area and out-rebounded
Franciscan 46-36.
Franciscan was 10-28 from three point land (35.7%) and shot just
22-66 from the field (33.3%). Zeigler scored all eight points in an 8-0
run for Altoona that pushed the lead from 12 to 20 (67-47) with 4:40 remaining
in the contest.
Every player on the Lions' active roster got at least six
minutes of floor time, and all but one scored. The win marked career-highs
in points for Jovan Brown (Philadelphia, PA/Sayre) (4), Zeigler (10), and Peters (15) as the Lions shot 26-62
from the field (41.9%) and 8-19 from beyond the arc (42.1%).
Penn State Altoona has a two-and-a-half week layoff before
traveling to Juniata College for an 8:00 PM tip on January 2, 2008.
CONTACT: Penn
State Altoona Sports Information
Steve Crider -- SID
814-949-5173
sac310@psu.edu
