MIDDLETOWN, PA - The players were ready, the coaches were focused and the fans were hyped for the home opener of the 2008-09 basketball season. The revamped Lady Lions and new head coach, Ross Patrick, looked to begin their season with a solid win against the visiting Lions of Penn State Mont Alto. A three pointer by Lady Lion, Lacee Port (Bellefonte/Bellefonte, PA), in the 18th minute gave the blue and white the quick lead and promise for things to come. Although the Lady Lions came out sharp with swarming defense, their offense went cold, not scoring again until the 12th minute of the first half. Soon after, the blue and white began to pick up momentum scoring sixteen more points before halftime.

With the game still close at 21-18, Coach Patrick calmed the team down preaching to be more patience with the ball in order to get better shots on offense. Shooting with a sixteen percent increase in the second half, from sixteen percent to thirty two percent, the blue and white did just that. Captain and last year´s 3rd team All-Conference player, Sandra Adames (Pontiac Northern/Pontiac, MI), showed the Lady Lion fans she can still dominate a game, scoring 14 of her game high 18 points in the second half shooting 50 percent as well as grabbing 12 of her 21 game high rebounds. With the Lady Lions feeding off Adames´ energy, the Lady Lions finished out the game on a sixteen to four run to capture the 52-34 victory.

The Lady Lions will host the Holiday Inn Harrisburg East Tip-Off Tournament this weekend with their first game coming on Friday, November 21st at 8:00 pm against the Chargers of Lancaster Bible College.

The men coming off their 91-87 overtime victory over North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) opponent Wells College, the Nittany Lions matched up against the Lions of Penn State Mont Alto. With five players scoring in double digits against Wells College, new head coach, Mike Gaffey, was looking for a similar performance in their home opener.

From the tip off the blue and white did not let up on the visiting Lions, going on a fifteen to zero run in the first eight minutes of the game. Penn State Mont Alto started to claw back in spite of the Nittany Lions´ stifling defense, scoring 29 points before halftime while shooting 40 percent from the field. Great defense often leads to great offense and the blue and white had just that in the first half, shooting 50 percent from the field while scoring 44 points.

Dominating the first half the blue and white kept the pressure on Mont Alto allowing them no closer than twelve points. The Nittany Lions finished the game shooting 49 percent from the field and capturing the 83-64 victory.

Nittany Lions Kenton Alston (Steelton-Highspire/Steelton, PA) and Jason Kuch (Cocalico/Denver, PA)combined for 43 points, 20 rebounds, 9 assists and 5 steals to help the Nittany Lions to a 2-0 start. The Nittany Lion´s next game coming on November 21st at 8:00 pm against Franklin & Marshall in the Franklin & Marshall Tournament.