Box Score Washington, D.C. - The Penn State Abington men's basketball team made a big second half comeback stick on the road at Gallaudet earlier this afternoon, taking an important 66-64 victory out of the grasp of the Bison. Sophomore Avery Barnes put together a double-double for the Nittany Lions, scoring 19 points and pulling down 11 rebounds to lead the Blue and White.
 
Gallaudet (9-12, 5-5 NEAC) was all over Penn State Abington early on, starting out with a 15-5 run after the Nittany Lions had taken a 2-0 lead with the opening basket. The Blue and White chipped away at their deficit throughout the rest of the half. In fact, the Nittany Lions were able to get as close as two points to their hosts on a terrific four-point play. With 6:13 left to play in the first half and Penn State Abington trailing by eight, sophomore Mike Marvin hit a jumper for the visitors. On the ensuing Gallaudet possession, Barnes came up with a huge block, and the Nittany Lions ran the floor and got the ball to another sophomore, Max Alton. The three-point shooting leader stepped into a shot from beyond the arc, and just after releasing the ball, he was fouled by a defender on the closeout. The ball swished through the net, Alton sank the subsequent free-throw to complete the rare four-point play, and suddenly the Nittany Lions only trailed 23-21.
 
Gallaudet went on yet a 15-9 run to follow this, however, and went into the locker room with a 38-30 lead over the Nittany Lions. Coming out of the lockers, it was a different story, however. Right out of the gates, Penn State Abington went on a 7-0 run of their own to cut their deficit to one. A layup by Barnes, a three-pointer from Mike Colacci, and a pair of free-throws from Marvin made the score 38-37 with 17:01 to play in the game. Gallaudet was able to hold off any further charges from the Nittany Lions for the moment, although the Blue and White kept it a one-possession game for the most part.
 
Penn State Abington (7-12, 5-3 NEAC) put together another mini-run, making three free throws over two possessions to take a 47-46 lead with 10:14 to play in the game. Once again, Gallaudet came back to retake the lead quickly, but the Nittany Lions still kept it close. With 3:42 to play, yet another Nittany Lion was fouled in the act of shooting a three-pointer. This time, it was RJ Handy who was sent to the line, and the junior sank all three freebies to give Penn State Abington the lead with 3:42 to play.
 
The Nittany Lions hung onto the lead until a jumper from Layton Seeber pushed Gallaudet ahead 64-63 with just 38 seconds left to play. A free throw from Mike Marvin with 11 seconds left tied the game at 64-64. Marvin missed his second free throw, but RJ Handy came up possibly his biggest offensive rebound of the season. After taking a timeout, the Nittany Lions ran a play to get Marvin the ball, and the star forward was able to drain a jumper with just seven seconds left to play.
 
Gallaudet took a timeout and tried desperately to get one last basket, but Marvin came up huge one last time. The 6-5 sophomore deflected the inbounds pass harmlessly away and time ran out, giving the Nittany Lions an important 66-64 victory in the NEAC South Division. Barnes and Marvin led Penn State Abington with 19 points apiece, while Alton had 11. Layton Seeber led all scorers with 28 points for Gallaudet, while Danny Kelly and Orion Palmer had 15 and 13, respectively. The victory helps Abington hold onto third place in the division standings, only half a game behind Harrisburg for second place. The Blue and White will have a chance to immediately continue their winning ways, and jump ahead of their mid-state rivals, when they hit the hardcourt back at home tomorrow against Harrisburg. Gametime is set for 2:00 pm, and you can get all your updates on Penn State Abington athletics at abingtonsports.com.