Strong second half not enough to lift Men’s Basketball past Penn State Altoona

PITTSBURGH --- Despite a strong second half showing, Carlow University men's basketball lost an 82-79 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference contest to visiting Penn State Altoona Wednesday night.

Nehemiah Brazil (Pittsburgh, Pa./Nazareth Prep HS) scored a game-high and tied a career-high 23 points. He shot 10 for 11 from the foul line and contributed three assists and two steals. Jordan Cannon (Cleveland, Ohio/Lutheran East/West Virginia Wesleyan) tallied 11 points, and Byron Gaskins (Woodbridge, Va./Christ Chapel Academy) dished out four assists. Adnan Sbai (Camp Hill, Pa./East Pennsboro Area HS/Seton Hill University) and Riley Comforti (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland HS) scored 15 and 10 points off the bench, respectively.

The Lions (9-6, 5-1 AMCC) started the game with an 8-3 lead over the Celtics (2-11, 1-4 AMCC). A three-pointer from Gavin Moyer (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York HS) brought Carlow within two, and later a layup by Jimmy Giannetta (Pittsburgh, Pa./Saint Joseph HS) tied the score at 15-all. Tied at 17-17, Penn State Altoona went on a 14-2 run that spanned over three minutes to lead, 31-19, with 4:12 remaining in the first half. Carlow kept it close, trailing by 10 at intermission.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Gaskins and Sbai cut Penn State Altoona's lead to four points midway through the second half, with the Celtics firing on all cylinders. Carlow completed several nice passes as the players began to find open looks under the basket. A layup by Sbai cut the Lions' lead to three, and neither team scored for almost two minutes before Penn State Altoona hit a layup to gain a 61-56 lead.

Moyer hit another trey at 6:58 to bring Carlow back to trail by three. Moyer found Gaskins for a layup, and Brazil hit an and-one shot and the subsequent free throw to tie the score at 64-all. The Lions scored 10 unanswered points to gain a more substantial advantage, but once again the Celtics rallied. Comforti sank two foul shots to put Carlow within five points, but with just 15 seconds remaining in the game, the Celtics were forced to foul to regain possession.

The Lions landed three of their four foul shots to lead 82-76, and a last-second three-pointer by Brazil was not enough to secure the comeback.

The Celtics missed just one foul shot (14 for 15) and scored 24 points off 17 Penn State Altoona turnovers on the night. Carlow outscored Penn State Altoona 29-23 off the bench. The Lions held a 43-41 advantage in rebounds and outscored the Celtics 54-44 in the paint.

Nehemiah Frye led the Lions with 17 points. Dwayne Jones contributed 16 points, and three other players recorded double-digit points in the win.

The Celtics travel to Alfred State College for a 2 p.m. AMCC game Jan. 18.