Tuesday night was the biggest game to date for Mont Alto Men's Basketball. They played in the PSUAC Championships for the first time ever. #2 Mont Alto took the court at Bryce Jordan Center at 8:00 p.m. against #1 York.
The team was full of excitement for so many reasons; playing for the PSUAC title, competing in the Bryce Jordan Center and playing in front of the hundreds of fans that came out to support the team.
This was the third time this season Mont Alto faced York. Going into the game each team had one loss and one win against each other. The game was back and forth with York ahead going into halftime, 33-29. Into the second half, Mont Alto came out with a spark and took the lead but with a few minutes left in the game York came back and claimed the PSUAC title, 72-63.
"York played a solid game and they earned the championship, we live on defense and it was not there tonight," Head Coach Jack Schenzel comments. "We made some runs but in the end they were not enough to overcome our mistakes. I want to congratulate York for the fine conference season."
Several of Mont Alto's players were impressive offensively. Starting guard, Sharif Welton (Sullivan County, PA) led the team with 18 points. Bobby Ingram (Frederick, MD) went two for three from the three point line and recorded 13 points. Freshman Jerome Evans (Carlisle, PA) added 11 points and Jamaal Carter (Harrisburg, PA) earned six assists.
"We have had a very good season so far, I do not want our season to be defined by not winning this game. This program has come a long way in the past two years," Coach Schenzel adds. "I want to thank the fans who traveled up to Bryce Jordan. The team really appreciated the home court feel."
Although it was a disappointing loss, the team found out very exciting news on Wednesday. They received a bid to the USCAA National Championships at Penn State Fayette. They continue to make history. Mont Alto Basketball has never played at nationals. They are the #4 seed and will play on Thursday March 6th at 3:15 p.m. against the #5 seed Warren Wilson College, who was the 2012-2013 USCAA Champions.
"We need to regroup and go out to Fayette for the USCAA Nationals ready to play. We can certainly make a run out there. We just need to clean some things up."
