Scranton Lions Men’s Basketball Fall at Greater Allegheny

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

On a Martin Luther King Jr. Day road matinee, the Penn State Scranton men's basketball squad dropped a 100-64 conference showdown with Penn State Greater Allegheny. With the defeat, Scranton sees their overall record fall to 4-10 and in the all-important league play they are now 1-8.

Greater Allegheny got off to a red hot start early and seized control of the contest, as they took a commanding 46-24 advantage into the half-time break in the action. In the game's final 20 minutes, Allegheny kept their foot on the gas and outscored Scranton 54-40, as they cruised to a dominant 36 point victory when the final buzzer blew.

The road warrior Lions from Scranton had two of their players score in double figures, as sophomore guard Jaiden Wiggins and freshman big man Chase Medina led the way on the offensive attack. Wiggins scored a team-high 15 points on a solid 6-12 shooting from the field and hit on 1-3 of his attempts from beyond the arc, to go along with his four rebounds, and three assists in his stalwart 26 minutes on the floor. Medina provided a quality low post presence throughout the matchup, as he put up 12 points, five boards, a trio of assists, and two blocks in his 30 minutes of action. Honorable mention also goes to freshman Ryan Cabrera and senior forward Justin Craigg who put up good ball games as well. Cabrera just missed out on scoring in double digits with his nine points, to go along with sinking one three pointer and grabbing three boards. Last but certainly not least, Craigg tallied eight points in his 18 minutes of work, to go along with his four assists, a hat trick of rebounds, and a steal to boot.

Allegheny had a well-rounded offensive attack, as four of their players put up impressive double digit scoring performances on the day, as junior guard Tyshyre Malachi, sophomore forward Michael Drew, and fellow sophomores Jeremiah Miller and Maurtice McArthur led the way. Malachi came off the bench and provided his ball club with a much needed spark in his 15 minutes on the court, as he scored a game-high 18 points on a lights out 6-7 shooting from the field and a lethal 4-5 from three point range, to go along with his trio of assists, two rebounds, and a steal. Drew also came off the bench and provided quality minutes with his 13 points, three assists, and two boards. Miller also tallied 13 points, shooting a robust 6-7 from the field and knocking down his one shot from beyond the arc, to go along with his three boards, three assists, and a steal. Finally, McArthur had a sound showing with his 10 points on 5-9 shooting from the field, to go along with his four rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block in his 21 minutes of play.

Now head coach Chris Sload and his Penn State Scranton men's basketball squad will look to snap their eight game losing streak in their next contest, when they travel on the road to take on conference foe Penn State Mont Alto this Wednesday night, January 18^th, with tip-off scheduled for 8pm. Meanwhile, head coach Daryn Freedman and his Penn State Greater Allegheny basketball team, who snapped a three game losing skid with their win over Scranton and now see their overall record improve to 6-15 and 5-5 in the crucial league standings, will look to continue their winning ways when they host conference rival Penn State Shenango this Wednesday at 8pm.