February 6th, 2009

MIDDLETOWN, PA - Penn State Harrisburg men´s basketball team lost their third consecutive game with their most recent coming from the hands of the Messiah Falcons, 92-68. The Nittany Lions fall to 7-13 on the season with the Falcons improving to 7-14 overall.

The Lions´ grabbed the lead, 6-5, in the first three minutes of the game but the Falcons´ balanced attack lead to them shooting 60.7 percent from the field, 57.1 from beyond the arc and a 46-23 halftime lead. The Nittany Lions´ first half shooting struggles continued with the blue and white going 11-for-28 from the field and 0-for-4 from behind the arc.

The blue and white´s second half was their best shooting perform of the year, shooting an outstanding 16-for-20 from the field and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. Although the Lions were able to pick up their offense, their defense could not stop Messiah from shooting 61.5 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from behind the arc.

Messiah´s pass first shoot later offense allowed the Falcons to keep Penn State Harrisburg´s defense off-balance as well allowing them to dish out 26 assists on 33 field goals to the Nittany Lions´ 12 assists on 27 field goals. The Falcons finished the game shooting 61.1 percent from the field, 55.6 percent from behind the arc and 11-for-12 from the charity stripe. Even though the Lions came out with a loss, they still managed to shoot 56.3 from the field.

Penn State Harrisburg was lead by freshman Kenton Alston (Steelton-Highspire/Steelton, PA) with 17 points off of 7-for-10 shooting as well as grabbing four rebounds. Freshman Brian Ongeri (Hershey/Hershey, PA)tailed 10 points off of 4-for-6 shooting with five rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Shane Woodman (Donegal/Mt. Joy, PA) chipped in with 10 points off of 4-for-8 shooting as well as 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.

Messiah College was led by Jamie Yoder with 18 points off of 5-for-6 shooting going 4-for-4 from behind the arc. Mike Shaker came off the bench to put in 15 points off of 5-for-7 shooting going 3-for-4 from behind the arc. Drew Sneeringer and Kyle Snyder both had 12 points to help the Falcons to a 92-68 victory. The blue and white will travel Tuesday night to face off against rival Penn State Berks. Tipoff is at 8:00 P.M.