McKeesport, PA. – After clinching their fourth consecutive trip to the Penn State University Athletic Conference playoffs on Saturday, the Penn State Greater Allegheny Men’s Basketball team (15-6, 12-5) has their sights set on one of the top two seeds when they take on Penn State Shenango (11-11, 10-6) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. A win would guarantee them a first-round home playoff game as they march down the path to the Bryce Jordan Center.
PSUGA showed just how good it’s offense could be on Saturday scoring over 100 points for the fifth time this season in a 106-78 victory over PSU-New Kensington. It was a game fueled by the seniors on senior day as the offense started on a 15-2 run over the first six and a half minutes of the game and never looked back.
After leading 56-39 at halftime, PSUGA came out of the break on a 10-0 run that upped their advantage to 66-39 effectively putting the game out of reach. All six seniors who were honored got on the board in the win and three of them finished in double digits as they continued their winning tradition making the playoffs in each of their four seasons.
Mhonte Newsome (Baltimore, Md./Our Lady of Mount Carmel) and Jordon Payne (McKeesport, PA./McKeesport HS) led the charge finishing with 17 and 16 points respectively. Fellow senior George Prota (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward HS) led the defense with 11 rebounds to go along with his 12 points as five different PSUGA players ended up in double digits as the team picked up its 15th win of the season.
With three games remaining on their schedule, two of those in conference play, PSUGA is looking to continue to build momentum towards the playoffs. In a season that has had both its ups and its downs PSUGA seems to be heading in the right direction as they move towards the tournament having won five of their last six games heading into play on Tuesday.
PSU-Shenango is going in a different direction after suffering a tough loss at the hands of top seeded PSU-Mont Alto on Saturday. The two teams battled to a 34-31 Mont Alto advantage at halftime, and those three points would prove to be enough despite a 31-point second half from Shenango as they fell 65-61. Junior Gannon Murray led the way with 22 points in the loss while Russell Gariepy added 15.
The first ever match-up between these two teams came earlier this season on November 29th 2018 when Shenango bested PSUGA 67-64. In a game that did not feature Payne, the PSUGA offense couldn’t sustain and despite a battle all the way to the end, PSUGA could not do enough to pull out a win. Kenny Rouse (Duquesne, PA./West Mifflin HS) led the way with 17 points and Makis Rivera (Pittsburgh, Pa./Imani Christian Academy) added 12 in the loss.
Tip-off for Tuesday night’s game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. inside the Wunderly Gym. You can watch a live video stream of the event at bit.ly/PSUGAYT.
