CAZENOVIA, NY - The Penn State Harrisburg men´s basketball team defeated the Wildcats of Cazenovia College, 91-87, Saturday, January 2nd despite giving up a 17-point lead with nine minutes remaining in the second half.

After the teams played to a 10-10 tie, Cazenovia went on an 8-0 run to take the lead but, then gave up a 10-2 run to see the game tied again, 20-20, with 10 minutes remaining. A pair of free throws by Kenny Stone (Philadelphia, PA/Scotland) with 19 seconds left in the first half broke a 38-38 tie and gave the blue and white a 40-38 lead at intermission.

The Nittany Lions came out of the gate strong in the second half by going on an 18-4 run in the opening six minutes to take a 58-42 lead. The Nittany Lions held a comfortable lead for much of the half, going up by as many as 17 points on two occasions. Trailing 74-57 at the 8:48 mark, the Wildcats started to chip away at the lead. Cazenovia produced a 16-3 run over the next six minutes to pull within four, 77-73. The Nittany Lions, though, earned the victory at the free throw line down the stretch by hitting 12-of-17 to close out the game.

Freshman guard, Steve Jones (Harrisburg, PA/Harrisburg), led the Nittany Lions with 25 points, going 11-for-18 from the field, adding six rebounds and six steals in just 20 minutes of play. Sophomore forward, Kenton Alston (Steelton, PA/Steelton-Highspire), collected a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 8-for-17 from the field. Sophomore forward, Brian Ongeri (Hershey, PA/Hershey), contributed a career-high 19 points in the winning effort with teammate Jordan Gatchell (Manheim, PA/Manheim Central) adding 15 points and nine rebounds.

Matt Phillips led the Wildcats with 27 points, adding 10 rebounds. Darnell Sampson and Malik Arnold each scored 20 points with Arnold grabbing nine rebounds.