(PAINESVILLE, OH:) After leading by as many as 10 in the
first half and holding a 28-24 lead at intermission, Penn State Altoona made
just four second-half field goals as watched Lake Erie battle back for a 62-47
victory Saturday afternoon. The Storm avenged an 80-64 setback to the
Lions on December 8 and improved to 13-6 overall and 9-3 in the Allegheny
Mountain Collegiate Conference. Altoona dropped to 10-9 and 7-5 in the
AMCC.
The Lions made only one field goal in the last 15 minutes of the
game and earned the rest of their points at the foul line. Freshman Eric
Gaetano (Montoursville, PA/Loyalsock Township) hit a triple with 8:13 remaining
that brought Altoona to within two (44-42). But Lake Erie scored the next
seven points and the visitors went 0-8 from the field and committed four
turnovers in the final eight minutes.
All-AMCC guard Derrick Thornton scored 22 points and finished
with 10 rebounds for the Storm, who held a 26-10 advantage in the paint.
John Dickinson added 11 as Lake Erie shot 47.2% from the field (25-53), recorded
five blocks, and forced 22 Lion turnovers.
Penn State Altoona was a mere 30% from the floor on the day
(13-43) and just 4-20 in the second half. The Lions did connect on 14-16
from the charity stripe and got 29 points via 20 LEC giveaways.
After Lake Erie bolted to a 9-2 lead to open the game, Altoona
rallied back and took its first lead, 13-11, on a Curtis Geiger (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove)
three pointer at the 10:03 mark. The squads flip-flopped leads over the
next three minutes before the Lions used a 12-1 run capped by a Justin Gasbarre
(Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) trey to go ahead 28-18 with 2:36 remaining in the
period.
The Storm closed the half on a 6-0 run that included a pair of
jumpers by John Dickinson to cut the halftime deficit to four (28-24).
Geiger had 11 of his team-high 15 points in the opening period for Altoona, and
six of the Lions' nine first-half field goals were from beyond the arc.
The contest featured 10 lead changes and three ties.
Geiger also had five steals, but no other Lion player scored more than eight.
The final margin (15) was the largest lead for either team throughout the
contest.
Penn State Altoona is back in action this Wednesday, February 6,
for an AMCC match up at Pitt-Bradford. Tip time is slated for 8:00 PM in
Bradford.
CONTACT: Penn
State Altoona Sports Information
Steve Crider -- SID
814-949-5173
sac310@psu.edu
