McKeesport, PA. – After falling to PSU-York on Friday night, the Penn State Greater Allegheny Men’s Basketball Team (10-5, 7-4) found themselves go from first to third in the Penn State University Athletic Conference. They look to rebound and fight their way back towards the top when they take on Penn State DuBois (4-14, 0-12) on Tuesday at 8 p.m. as they hit the road to the Bryce Jordan Center.
After battling to a 14-14 score over the first six minutes of the game, PSU-York would go on an 18-3 run that got them a 32-17 lead and they would never look back taking it to victory. PSUGA managed just 25 points in the first half, followed by another 25-point effort in the second half that led to their fourth conference loss of the season and their first loss since the calendar turned to 2019.
It was once again senior Jordon Payne (McKeesport, PA./McKeesport HS) leading the way on offense with 14 points on the day while fellow senior Mhonte Newsome (Baltimore, MD./Our Lady of Mt. Saint Carmel) followed up with 12 points of his own. Antonio Hill (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin HS) led the defensive side of the ball finishing with seven rebounds and seven points.
With the loss, PSUGA falls to 7-4 in conference play marking the most conference loses they have had in a single season since the 2015-2016 season. However, they still find themselves right in the thick of the PSUAC playoff race sitting in third place in the PSUAC West Division. PSUGA’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is six with eight games to play. Any combination of six PSUGA wins or PSU-Fayette losses will send PSUGA to the PSUAC playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
PSU-DuBois enters Tuesday’s contest just trying to look for some momentum as they finish out their 2018-2019 schedule. It just hasn’t been their year as they start 0-12 in conference play and having lost their last seven games. They fell to PSU-York last time out 95-58 where leader Dylan Huey led the way with 12 points and Jonathan Turk added 11 points off the bench.
In 16 previous matchups, PSUGA has had the advantage with a record of 9-7 against PSU-DuBois including an 87-70 win earlier this year that sparked the team’s season long six game win streak that got them to the top of the West Division. Payne and Kenny Rouse (Duquesne, PA./West Mifflin HS) dropped 28 and 24 points respectively leading PSUGA to the victory.
Tip-off for Tuesday’s game is scheduled for 8 p.m. as the second half of a men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader. You can watch all the action live at bit.ly/PSUGAYT.
