McKeesport, PA. – The Penn State Greater Allegheny Men’s Basketball Team (3-0, 0-0) concluded the 2018 PSUGA Tip-off Tournament with a win over Southern State CC (1-3, 0-0) 85-60 on Saturday. The defense stepped up throughout the game holding the Patriots under 70 points marking the second straight day that they were able to accomplish that feat.
The PSUGA offense started out hot scoring the first 15 points of the game including three three-pointers with two of those coming from Kenny Rouse (Duquesne, PA./West Mifflin HS). Southern State would substitute all five of their players from the court and got back in the game courtesy of a 10-3 run that brought the score back to 18-10. The game stayed close for most of the first half, but PSUGA’s defense played well stifling comeback attempts from Southern State.
PSUGA was able to score the final four points of the half and went into the locker room leading 38-24. Jordon Payne (McKeesport, PA./McKeesport HS) had a lot of the early offensive success heading into halftime with 14 of his team high 21 points in the contest. PSUGA went into halftime having to stop Southern State who was out rebounding them 26-18 if they wanted to pull away.
They did just that tightening up their defense in the second half and allowing their offense to take over. PSUGA came out and took the first nine points of the second half to open the scoring to 47-24 and never looked back finishing out the game strong with an 85-60 win. They accomplished their goal of out rebounding their opponent in the second half 25-14 and that created opportunities for them to score.
George Prota (Elizabeth, PA./Elizabeth Forward HS) had a big second half scoring 13 of his season high 17 points while teammates Payne and Makis Rivera (Pittsburgh, PA./Imani Christian Academy) scored seven second half points apiece leading to the win. It was the first game this season that PSUGA had scored under 100 points, however, they continue their streak of good offense scoring over 81 points in all three games.
PSUGA now moves to 3-0 for the second season in a row and their offense has proven to be one of their most effective weapons. With Payne and Rouse leading the charge, PSUGA has been able to put up big numbers allowing them some time to relax on the defensive side of the ball.
PSUGA has a week off before they return to action on November 19th against California University of Pennsylvania. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
