Mont Alto Hands Scranton a 94-77 Defeat

By: Frank Maira, Assistant Director of Athletics/Sports Information Director

MONT ALTO, Pa. – The Penn State Mont Alto men's basketball team got off to a slow start on the heels of a thrilling Friday win, but rebounded well and rolled to a 94-77 victory on Saturday over Penn State Scranton.

Inside the Box Score

• Jalen Smith (Ranson, W.Va. / Jefferson) had a big afternoon scoring a game-high 27 points, including a second half dunk.  Smith recorded his second-straight double-double with 14 rebounds. Fellow senior Kevin Holston (Fort Wasington, Md. / Friendly) finished in double figures with 13 points.
• Marcus Roper (Charles Town, W.Va. / Jefferson) was an efficient 7-of-14 from the field and finished with a season-high 17 points. Roper also had six rebounds and five assists.
• Sophomore guard Quintyn Flemister (Harrisburg, Pa. / Harrisburg) followed up a career-high evening with another solid performance hustling for seven rebounds along with 13 points.  Drew Pitzer (Bunker Hill, W.Va. / Musselman) grabbed 12 boards and scored seven points.
• Penn State Mont Alto (16-6, 13-3 PSUAC) shot 45.2 percent from the floor and held the 56-37 advantage in rebounds. The team scored 21 second chance points.
• Arel Maour and Cameron Jordan had solid games for PSU Scranton scoring 27 points and 19, respectively.
• Scranton shot 40.8 percent from the field and turned up the pressure defense in the second half, forcing 12 PSUMA turnovers within the period.

How it Happened

• Penn State Scranton (3-15, 1-13 PSUAC) opened with a 7-3 lead and Mont Alto immediately responded with a Roper trey and a John Teague (Hagerstown, Md. / North Hagerstown) layup that put them up 8-7.
• Roper had a perfect start from downtown connecting on all three attempts including the final, which was assisted by Drew Pitzer (Bunker Hill, W.Va. / Musselman). PSUMA held a 24-16 lead after the triple.
• Mont Alto turned up its pressure full court defense and the squad raced out to a 47-31 lead and forced a visitor's timeout after a Holston 3-pointer with 1:22 remaining in the half.  The score remained the same going into halftime.
• Pitzer converted on a tough transition layup at the 14:32 mark that put his team up 57-42.
• Scranton stringed together several good possessions in a row and cut the deficit to 75-63. However, Mont Alto reset out of a timeout and were in cruise control for the final seven-plus minutes of the game and held on for the 94-77 final.

Mont Alto who have already clinched their PSUAC Playoff Tournament ticket and now control its own destiny with three conference games remaining. The Lions host Penn State Shenango on Saturday, February 9 and the game could potentially decide if Mont Alto clinches the No. 1 seed in the PSUAC West. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.