Lion Men's Basketball Finishes the First Semester of Action with Pair of USCAA Road Wins

Monaca, Pa. - In the 2016 Penn State Beaver Holiday Tournament, the Penn State Greater Allegheny men's basketball team noted a pair of United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) victories over the weekend as the Lions took SUNY Delhi, Saturday, 83-82, before taking Apprentice 66-61, Sunday afternoon. 

SUNY Delhi was first on the board before sophomore forward George Prota (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) put down points in the paint as sophomore guard Jordon Payne (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) tied the game at five with a good three-pointer. 

Senior forward Jumanne Butler-McDaniel (Franklin, N.J./Cardinal McCarrick), junior guard Jeremy McMunn (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) and junior forward Curtis Newby (Sharon, Pa./Sharon) all deposited two points each before Newby continued with a layup and one, 15-13 Greater Allegheny.

Senior guard Moe Alli (Edison, N.J./Cardinal McCarrick) zipped up nine points himself as McMunn hammered back-to-back jumpers. Newby silenced the crowd with a dunk as Butler-McDaniel and Payne marked two points a piece, GA down five with less than three minutes until the break.

Newby downed a pair from the foul line before adding a layup while Prota closed out the first half with a layup, 43-41 SUNY Delhi.

Butler-McDaniel was the first to answer in the second-half with a jumper before Prota added four straight points. Junior guard Khari Hicks (East Hills, Pa./Imani Christian Academy) added a jumper himself, 54-50 SUNY.

Payne noted a layup and one as Alli, Hicks and Payne peppered the SUNY defense with points from the floor. Hicks made a pair from the foul line as Newby and Hicks continued. Prota drained a layup and one to bring the game to 71-69 SUNY with eight minutes of action remaining in regulation. 

Butler-McDaniel and Hicks added four straight points from the free-throw line before Newby and Prota contributed to tie the game at 78 with just two minutes to go. A jumper and two free throws brought SUNY four points ahead of GA with just 13 seconds on the clock. Newby slices a three-pointer from the Delhi defense before McMunn finds himself in a clutch situation, bringing the Lions out on top for another buzzer-beater win, 83-82.

Newby marked 19 points with seven rebounds, five assists and four steals while Hicks noted 12 points, three boards and two steals. Prota slashed 13 points with nine boards and two assists while McMunn and Payne each added ten points a piece; McMunn with three rebounds and an assist and Payne with three assists and two rebounds.

As a team, Greater Allegheny out-rebounded SUNY Delhi 42-38 while the men shot 100% (12-for-12) from the free-throw line and 43.8% (32-of-73) from the field. GA put up 40 points in the paint while noting 17 points off second-chance and 13 points off Delhi turnovers.

Sunday brought the Apprentice School, as their men quickly jumped out to a four point lead. Payne was first to draw with six points as Prota split up the action with a layup, 12-10 Apprentice. Alli and Hicks dropped two points a piece before sophomore guard Juwan Ledbetter (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) added a free-throw point. 

Junior guard Denzel Boyer-London (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) tied the game at 17 with a good jumper before putting up a free-throw. Hicks and Boyer-London hit back-to-back layups as Boyer-London continued with two good free-throws. Alli added two points from the foul line before Ledbetter backed it with a layup and one, sending the two teams into the break with Apprentice on top, 36-29.

Payne hit the first points of the second half with a jumper as Butler-McDaniel put up four points. Prota slashed a trio of free-throws before netting a layup and one, 43-42 Greater Allegheny. Hicks slashed two more from the foul line as Butler-McDaniel and Newby netted layups. Payne and McMunn downed jumpers to bring the game to 55-55 as McMunn extended with two free-throws with just two minutes remaining.

Prota made a layup while Butler-McDaniel stretched the lead with three free-throws, McMunn with one, 63-58. Hicks added one while Payne finished off the game, 66-61 Greater Allegheny.

Payne put up 16 points with four good three-pointers, two assists, a rebound and a steal as Prota marked a double-double with ten points and eleven rebounds with an assist and a block. Butler-McDaniel shot 75% (3-of-4) from the field with 75% (3-of-4) of his free-throws going in for nine points, four rebounds and an assist.

As a team, Greater Allegheny was out-rebounded 47-37 as the men added 67.6% (23-of-34) from the free-throw line and 32.8% (19-of-58) from the floor. The men added 22 points in the paint and 12 points off second-chance with eight points off turnovers.

Greater Allegheny (9-4, 3-1 PSUAC) takes winter break and looks forward to opening the second semester in Penn State University Athletic Conference action. January 13th, 2017 brings Penn State Wilkes-Barre in a 8 p.m. tip-off.