McKeesport, PA. - Last season, Villa Maria (8-2, 0-0) and Penn State Greater Allegheny Men's Basketball (4-3, 1-3) battled to three overtimes in the first round of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association. It will be a rematch of that big game on Friday at 8 p.m. inside the Wunderly gym.
PSUGA will be looking to turn things around after dropping their last three games and falling to 1-3 in Penn State University Athletic Conference play. Since their opening two games, the offense hasn't been able to score over 85 points in any of the last five games going 2-3 over that span.
They kept things close early on last time out against PSU-Mont Alto but the offense couldn't keep up leading to a 67-56 loss. Defense ruled the first half with the team's entering the locker room with Mont Alto leading 26-17. PSUGA would go on to score 37 second half points but it wasn't enough to get back into the game.
Jordon Payne (McKeesport, PA./McKeesport HS) once again led the way with 15 points in the loss. Payne has been a constant as the leading scorer for PSUGA scoring 15 or more points in five of his six games this season. Koran Flemming (Wilkinsburg, PA./Westinghouse HS) follows with 10 points rounding out the two players in double digits for PSUGA.
While PSUGA has been in a slump, their defense has played well during that stretch giving up 70 points or less in the last three straight games. The offense is working out the kinks trying to get back to where they were at the beginning of the season.
The offense will be tested against one of the top scoring teams in the country in Villa Maria. In the team's 10 games this season, the Vikings have scored 90 or more points in every game. Villa Maria took their first loss in seven games last time out falling to Braynt & Stratum College 99-95. Dominic Douglas led the way with 26 points and was one of two Vikings to finish with 20 or more points.
Last season's playoff game was the firsr meeting between the two teams with Villa Maria picking up a 106-101 triple overtime win. Payne led the way with 32 points in the game and eclipsed the 1300 career point mark in the game.
Tip-off for Fridays game is scheduled for 8 p.m. and will be the second half of a men's and women's basketball doubleheader.
