Lions win overtime thriller, clinch playoff berth
2.20.08

(GREENSBURG, PA:)  Penn State Altoona outscored host Pitt-Greensburg 14-4 in overtime to pull out a 70-60 victory over the Bobcats Wednesday night.  The Lions improved to 12-12 on the season, 9-8 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, and clinched an AMCC playoff berth for the second consecutive season.  Greensburg, who already secured a spot in the upcoming conference tournament, dropped to 11-13 and 10-7 in the league.

After a Jacquet Wells lay up 15 seconds into the extra session put UPG ahead 58-56, Altoona scored the next seven points on a Justin Gasbarre (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) 3-pointer sandwiched around two Quintin Dziabo (Cresson, PA/Penn Cambria) lay ups to nab a 63-58 advantage with 1:58 remaining.  Bobcat center Daniel Waajid scored a bucket to cut the deficit to three, but Colin Geiger (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) drained a huge trey and scored six points in the final 1:03 to help Altoona snap its three game losing skid.

With the game deadlocked at 54 in the closing minutes of the second half, Curtis Geiger (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) canned a jumper with 1:29 left to give the Lions a 56-54 lead.  Dziabo missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Greensburg got the ball back with 23 ticks on the clock.  After two consecutive timeouts, Wells converted a lay up with 15 seconds left to send the game to overtime as Altoona was unable to get away a final shot.

Dziabo finished with a team-high 18 points and is now just 13 away from reaching 1,000 for his career.  The Geiger brothers each finished with 12, and Curtis Geiger yanked a career-high 12 rebounds and earned his first ever double-double in a Lion jersey.

Both teams shot 40% from the field in the game, but the visitors were an efficient 4-6 (66.7%) in OT compared to 2-8 shooting (25%) by Greensburg.  Penn State Altoona also got a big boost on the boards, out-rebounding the taller Bobcats 45-42 and getting 18 second-chance points via 16 offensive boards.

UPG was led by Wells' 20 points on 8-9 shooting.  Waajid recorded a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds, but no other Bobcat player tallied more than six points.

The game was close throughout and featured seven ties and nine lead changes.  The largest lead for either team in regulation was six points as Altoona led 28-24 at intermission.   The Lions led the final 14:46 of the opening half and made five more free throws (13-8) on the night than their counterparts.

Penn State Altoona has secured a playoff berth, but the exact seed and first round opponent is still to be determined.  If the squad wins Saturday vs. Mount Aloysius, it clinches the #4 seed and a first round home game regardless of what happens in other action.  If the Lions lose Saturday, their seeding and opponent will be determined by results of other games.  The Lions and Mounties meet at 4:00 PM this Saturday as part of senior day at the Adler Gym.

CONTACT:        Penn State Altoona Sports Information
                           Steve Crider  --  SID
                           814-949-5173
                           sac310@psu.edu