McKeesport, Pa. - Despite a hard-battle back and forth which ended in overtime, the Penn State Greater Allegheny men's basketball team posted their third-straight Penn State University Athletic Conference victory over Penn State Hazleton, Saturday, by a margin of 69-66.
Junior forward Curtis Newby (Sharon, Pa./Sharon) was first on the board before sophomore guard Jordon Payne (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) drained a three-pointer, 5-0 GA. Sophomore forward George Prota (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) laid on points in the paint as Newby added one from the foul line, tie game at eight. Sophomore guard Juwan Ledbetter (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) slammed a three-pointer to take the game back 11-10 before senior guard Moe Alli (Edison, N.J./Cardinal McCarrick) put up a point from the foul line, 8:30 remaining in the first half.
Butler-McDaniel, Ledbetter and Newby added points as Hazleton escalated their score to 29-19 over the home team with less than two minutes until halftime. Newby nailed a dunk before completing a pair of free-throws, sending the teams into half Hazleton leading 32-23.
Butler-McDaniel added a point from the foul line before junior guard Jeremy McMunn (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) netted seven straight points, the last being a three-pointer, 38-31 Hazleton with 13 minutes left in regulation. Prota placed a jumper as Newby placed a fast break layup, GA only trailing five.
Butler-McDaniel marked a put-back before draining a three, 47-40 with just seven minutes of action remaining. Junior guard Denzel Boyer-London (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) marked a layup as Butler-McDaniel put up a pair from the foul line, five point deficit with six left.
Newby zipped down the court for fast break points as junior guard Khari Hicks (East Hills, Pa./Imani Christian Academy) finessed a pair of jumpers, 51-50. McMunn rained in a jumper to tie the game at 52 before Newby and Ledbetter added points from the foul line. Hicks and McMunn put up points from the paint as Newby sent the game into overtime with a layup, 60-60.
Prota was first to answer in the overtime period with a jumper before McMunn and Prota put up back-to-back layups, 66-62 Greater Allegheny. Hazleton worked to tie the game at 66 before Hicks solidified the win with a three-pointer with just four seconds remaining in the extra period.
Newby recorded yet another double-double, surging with 16 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block while McMunn came up with 13 points, four steals, three rebounds and an assist. Butler-McDaniels added two points with three boards and two assists while Hicks came off-the-bench with nine points, three assists and two steals.
As a team, Greater Allegheny was out-rebounded 41-38 as the home team turned 26 Hazleton turnovers into 23 GA points. The Lions completed 52.6% (10-of-19) from the foul line as they completed 37% (27-of-73) of their shots from the floor.
Greater Allegheny (7-2, 3-0 PSUAC) looks onward to Wednesday, as they travel to NCAA Division II Pitt-Johnstown for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
