McKeesport, Pa. – After being named the #5 team in the nation by the USCAA, the Penn State Greater Allegheny Men’s Basketball Team (8-3, 3-0) looks to tie their season high with their fourth straight win against Penn State DuBois (4-4, 2-2) on Friday. PSUGA has used a steady offensive attack to get to the top led by Jordon Payne (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) and Curtis Newby (Sharon, Pa./Sharon HS).
However, their last time out was a low scoring affair in which they just topped Penn State Hazleton 76-70. It was the second straight game that PSUGA went into halftime trailing in the game as they were down 39-34 at the break. However, they went on a 10-0 run in the second half to take a lead and that is all they would need to grab the victory. After having some high scoring offensive games to start the season, PSUGA has had to play in some close ball games as of late and have been getting the job done.
Jordon Payne reached a milestone in the game not only leading the team with his 30-point effort, but he also reached the 1,000 point mark in his PSUGA career in the game. Payne has been Mr. Consistent all season long scoring 20 or more point in eight of the teams 11 games and being the team leader in points in 10 of those 11 games.
Another player who has found himself in the last two games is senior Jeremy McMunn (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills). After averaging just 5.4 points per game in his first eight games as a starter, he has been moved to the bench and has been thriving ever since. In his last two contests, he has scored 16 and 10 points respectively for an average of 13.0 PPG. Kenny Rouse (Duquesne, Pa./West Mifflin) has stepped in McMunn’s starting spot and had his best offensive game as a starter against PSU-Hazleton scoring 13 points.
PSUGA enters play on Friday tied for the top spot in the PSUAC with Penn State Brandywine as both teams sit at 3-0 in conference play. With a win on Friday, PSUGA would tie their season long winning streak of four which they did to start the season, and could possibly jump Brandywine for the top spot.
For PSU-DuBois, they are coming off of an 81-70 win over Penn State Beaver to help break a short two game losing streak. Tristan Pierce led DuBois offensively in the game with 23 points and was one of three DuBois players to finish in double digits on the night. DuBois is getting back on track after a slow start to the season as they have won three out of their last five contests.
PSUGA has a slight upper hand in the all-time meetings between these two teams as they have a 7-6 record against PSU-DuBois since the 2011/12 season. PSUGA and DuBois split the season series last season with the home team picking up a win in both of the games.
Friday’s contest is the second half of a Men’s and Women’s double header and is the first half finale for the PSUGA Men’s Basketball Team as they wrap up the 2017 part of their 2017/18 season. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. and is the final game of this stretch of eight straight road games.
