Hicks Hits 1,000 Point Milestone in Win Over Point Park
Khari Hicks's 16-point effort put him over 1,000 for his PSUGA career in an 82-77 win over Point Park on Friday night. Hicks has been a four year member of the team and has played a big part in the team's success.
McKeesport, Pa. – It was a big night for the Penn State Greater Allegheny Men’s Basketball Team (2-0, 0-0) as they picked up their first ever win over a Division II School in program history when they beat Point Park (1-2, 0-0) Wednesday Night 82-77. Not only was it a big night for the team, but a big night for one individual as well.
Khari Hicks (East Hills, Pa./Imani Christian Academy) scored 16 points on the night putting him at 1,001 points in his Penn State Greater Allegheny Career. The shot that put him over the edge came with just 2:46 left in the game as he drove to the hoop and went up for a layup to complete the accomplishment. He was instantly surrounded by players and coaches and received an honorary 1,000-point ball from Head Coach Tyler Care.
Hicks has seen regular playing time since his freshman year with the team. He came on the scene with a bang scoring 463 points in his freshman season as a full-time starter. Then, last season he was asked to take a little bit of a back seat coming off the bench in the majority of his games. He would go on to lead the bench in points per game with 7.2 Hicks says he doesn’t care where he plays as long as he is helping out his team and he certainly did on this night.
Hick’s milestone gave PSUGA all the momentum they would need to carry them to victory in a very tight contest. Jordon Payne (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) would hit a big two-pointer with :35 left in the contest and Jeremy McMunn (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) would seal the deal with two free throws at the end of the game to get to the 82-77 final score.
Payne led PSUGA offensively on the night collecting 17 points to go along with two assists and three rebounds. He was followed by Hick’s 16-point effort and Curtis Newby (Sharon, Pa./Sharon HS) and George Prota (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) who each had 12 points. Prota and Newby also picked up their second straight double-doubles of the year as Prota lead the team with 15 rebounds and Newby came through with 13. Kenny Rouse played a big role off the bench picking up nine points and eight rebounds to lead all bench players on the night.
The win gives PSUGA their first ever win over a Division II school in program history giving Coach Care and his team a lot to be excited about as the season progresses. The Men’s Basketball team is back in action Friday night as they start their PSUGA Tip-off Tournament. They will play two games over the weekend, facing CCAC-Boyce on Friday at 8 p.m. and coming back to play Penn Highlands Saturday at 3 p.m.