New Kensington, Pa. - The Penn State Greater Allegheny men's basketball team took their sixth Penn State University Athletic Conference triumph of the season over Penn State New Kensington, Tuesday night, by a margin of 88-72.
Greater Allegheny jumped out to an 8-0 lead in less than three minutes of action with contributions from senior forward Jumanne Butler-McDaniel (Franklin, N.J./Cardinal McCarrick), sophomore forward George Prota (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) and junior forward Curtis Newby (Sharon, Pa./Sharon).
Senior guard Moe Alli (Edison, N.J./Cardinal McCarrick) hit a jumper before Butler-McDaniel came back for four points straight. Sophomore guard Jordon Payne (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) nailed a jumper and a three split up by a junior guard Denzel Boyer-London (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) jumper, 21-14 GA with nine minutes until half.
Alli and Prota both hit a jumper and one each to continue the GA roll. Prota, Butler-McDaniel and Newby added points before Alli surged +with five points. Newby and Payne knocked down jumpers before halftime, Greater Allegheny 40-38.
The first four minutes of the second half saw twelve Lion points from Prota, Newby, Butler-McDaniel and junior guard Khari Hicks (East Hills, Pa./Imani Christian Academy), 52-45 GA. Jumpshots from Prota and Newby led the way to a Payne three-pointer. New Kensington continued to score as Boyer-London, Prota and junior guard Jeremy McMunn (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) peppered their defense, ending in a McMunn three-pointer, 75-63 with just five minutes remaining in regulation.
Newby added four straight as Payne and Boyer-London added points from the foul line. Newby swished a jumper to finish the Lions of New Ken, 88-72.
The Newby and Prota duo dominated New Kensington, as each of them stood out on the floor with a double-double each. Newby shot 70% (7-of-10) from the floor for 15 points while pulling down 19 rebounds four assists and two blocks. Prota added 21 points on 64.3% (9-of-14) of his shots taken from the floor, along with 17 boards.
Payne came off the bench for 12 points, two rebounds and an assist while Alli added ten points and three rebounds. Butler-McDaniel added ten points himself with three boards.
As a team, Greater Allegheny out-rebounded New Kensington 53-40 as the men noted 61.1% (11-of-18) of their shots from the foul line as well as 45.7.% (37-of-81) of their shots falling in from the floor. The Lions managed 20 points on second-chance as well as 11 points off NK turnovers.
Greater Allegheny (12-4, 6-1 PSUAC) hosts Penn State Lehigh Valley, Friday night, for a Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) double-header. The men are set to tip-off after the women, around 8 p.m.
