Roper’s Career-High 29 Points Leads Mont Alto past New Kensington

Roper’s Career-High 29 Points Leads Mont Alto past New Kensington
February 13, 2019

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

NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. – The Penn State Mont Alto men's basketball team continued their winning ways on Wednesday and won its ninth-straight game over Penn State New Kensington by a 98-72 score. Marcus Roper (Charles Town, W.Va. / Jefferson) led all scorers with a career-high 29 points. He shot 4-for-10 from 3-point range and also grabbed five boards.

Inside the Box Score

  • New Kensington shot well from the field in the first half (15-of-30), but PSUMA's defense locked down in the second half holding them to 34.6 percent from the floor.
  • John Teague (Hagerstown, Md. / North Hagerstown) notched his second-straight double-double and third of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
  • Senior Jalen Smith (Ranson, W.Va. / Jefferson) also added 17 points and seven boards. Fellow upperclassman Drew Pitzer (Bunker Hill, W.Va. /Mussleman) chipped in 10 points and a season-high eight rebounds.
  • Mont Alto held a 52-31 advantage in rebounds.

How it Happened

  • Mont Alto started hot and raced to a 12-5 lead after a John Teague (Hagerstown, Md. / North Hagerstown) layup. New Kensington had its response and went on a run of its own and built a 25-16 advantage after a Jacob Richardson bucket.
  • PSUMA clawed their way back for much of the first half and took a 42-41 lead into halftime. New Kensington was able to keep Mont Alto off balance within the half with its 2-3 zone.
  • It was a tale of two halves for Mont Alto as they came out of the locker room fired up especially on the defensive end of the floor and it showed. PSUMA forced a homestanding Lions timeout at the 13:57 mark after a Jalen Smith (Ranson, W.Va. / Jefferson) layup that put his team up 58-46.
  • Mont Alto had its way for the remainder of the game as they held on for the 98-72 road win.

Penn State Mont Alto (18-6, 15-3 PSUAC) have officially locked up the No. 1 seed in the PSUAC West and will play in its final home game of the regular season on Friday, Feb. 15 against PSU DuBois. Prior to tip-off the program will celebrate its seniors Jalen Smith, Terrell Campbell, Kevin Holston and Drew Pitzer.