McKeesport, Pa. – Coming off of a big win against Point Park on Wednesday night, the Penn State Greater Allegheny Men’s Basketball Team (2-0, 0-0) will have a quick turnaround as they get set to open the 2017 PSUGA Tip-off Tournament Friday at 6 p.m. inside the Wunderly Gymnasium.
There will be four games in two days inside Wunderly as four teams from around the area will play in the tournament. The action kicks off on Friday night when Penn State New Kensington faces off against Penn Highlands at 6 p.m. That game will be followed by a matchup between PSUGA and CCAC-Boyce at 8 p.m. The action continues on Saturday afternoon when Penn State New Kensington faces CCAC-Boyce at 1 p.m. and the tournament wraps up with PSUGA facing Penn Highlands at 3 p.m.
PSUGA had a memorable win their last time out as they collected their first ever win over a Division II school when they beat Point Park on Wednesday night 82-77. Also in that game, senior Khari Hicks (East Hills, Pa./Imani Christian Academy) put up 16 points putting him over 1,000 points scored for his PSUGA career.
Jordon Payne (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) continued his great offensive effort leading the team with 17 points in the contest. George Prota (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) and Curtis Newby (Sharon, Pa./Sharon HS) each collected their second straight double-double of the season as Prota finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds while Newby finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
PSUGA’s offense has shined over its first two contests of the season. They currently rank second in the Penn State University Athletic Conference in points per game with 94 and are leading the league in offensive rebounds per game with 21. Their defense has also been coming through as they are leading the league in total rebounds per game with 59.
Their Friday opponent, CCAC-Boyce, comes into the tournament with two games under their belts as they battled Grove City College on November 6th and faced Lorain Community College on November 4th. PSUGA will look to keep their offense going and get into a groove early on in the season.
The only meeting between these two teams came at last year’s PSUGA Tip-Off Tournament where PSUGA picked up a 98-55 win. Jeremy McMunn (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) had a big game putting up 16 points in the victory and Curtis Newby lead the team in rebounds with nine. PSUGA will look for a similar result when they do battle on Friday night.
PSUGA tournament action starts on Friday with the Penn State New Kensington vs. Penn Highlands game at 6 p.m. and will be followed by the CCAC-Boyce vs. PSUGA game at 8 p.m.
