Men’s Basketball Downs Penn State York, 82-78 in a Thrilling Friday Night Showdown

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

MONT ALTO, Pa. – The Penn State Mont Alto men's basketball team duked it out and went basket-for-basket down the stretch against PSU York with Jalen Smith (Ranson, W.Va. / Jefferson) sealing the 82-78 victory with clutch free throws within the last 1:30. Smith scored a game-high 29 with eight of those points occuring within the final five minutes of the second half.

Inside the Box Score

• Smith shot 3-of-6 from downtown and 8-of-12 from the field and has scored 20 or more points in eight games this season.
• Mont Alto forced 10 turnovers in the first half and had the ball moving with 10 assists on 18 field goals.
• Penn State York (11-4, 6-3 PSUAC) had a quartet finish in double figures with Sahnei Day, Justin Luton, John Gillespie and Anthony Bennett Jr. achieving the feat. Day led the visitors with 16 points.
• Mont Alto shot 58.8 percent from the field and were 9-of-16 from downtown. The home team also had a 31-26 advantage in rebounds.
• The game featured four ties and nine different lead changes with six of them occurring within the second half.
• Kevin Holston (Fort Washington, Md. / Friendly) got to the rim at will and scored a season-high 18 points. Junior guard Marcus Roper (Charles Town, W. Va. / Jefferson) scored in double figures for the third-straight game and finished with 13 points. Backcourt mate Terrell Campbell (Germantown, Md. / St. John's College Prep) dished out eight assists.

How it Happened

• Mont Alto was much more efficient from the field within the first half and it helped them to a 39-29 lead after a Jalen Smith (Ranson, W.Va. / Jefferson) old fashioned 3-point sequence with 4:09 left in the half.
• A 3-pointer from Kevin Holston got the home crowd on their feet and the senior converted a buzzer beater transition layup to give PSUMA the 49-37 halftime lead.
• Another momentum swinging 3-pointer, this time from Marcus Roper (Charles Town, W. Va. / Jefferson) put his team up 58-47 at the 14:48 mark. An 8-0 run ensued that put PSUMA up 63-47 and forced a York timeout.
• The visitors came out of the timeout and forced a couple of Mont Alto turnovers, which sparked an 18-4 run and tied the game up with 2:18 left. After a Michel Coleman free throw that briefly put the visitors up 74-73, Marcus Roper (Charles Town, W. Va. / Jefferson) made a layup that put his team up for good.

Penn State Mont Alto (10-6, 7-3 PSUAC) travels to PSU Beaver as the team will look to revenge an earlier season loss in a pivotal conference game on Wednesday, January 25. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.