Box Score Abington, Pa. – The Penn State Abington men's basketball squad saw another milestone posted to their record books earlier this evening en route to a 73-69 victory over NEAC conference foe Gallaudet. Junior forward Mike Marvin scored his 1000^th career point with his first basket of the game and ended up leading the squad with 21 points in the affair. Meanwhile, fellow junior Avery Barnes added a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds to help the Blue and White even up their record at 3-3 on the year. The Bison, who led 44-35 at half, were led by forward Orion Palmer, who netted 21 points himself in the losing effort.
 
Both sides played each other evenly in the opening minutes of the game. Gallaudet (0-5, 0-2 NEAC) jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead with back-to-back threes to open the contest, but Penn State Abington (3-3, 1-1 NEAC) climbed right back into the thick of things with solid early defense and some timely shooting of their own. Just over ten minutes into the game, the teams remained close with the game knotted at 22-22. However, the Bison would go on a 14-6 run over the next five minutes in an effort to assert their dominance on the game. In fact, it was mostly done on the back of Palmer himself, who scored 11 of those 14 points himself by going on a 5-5 shooting spurt in that stretch, including a three-ball. The Nittany Lions tried to chip away at that deficit before the half came to a close, and did manage to get as close as three points, but the visitors closed with a pair of buckets to make it a 44-35 game at the half.
 
As the second half opened, Gallaudet managed to stretch their lead as high as 14 points early on, but then the Penn State Abington offense came alive over the final 15 minutes of play, and did so with authority. The Nittany Lions outscored the visitors 30-17 over the final quarter-hour, and it started with five points from freshman Nisiar Smith to make it a 45-52 game. After the Bison stretched the lead back to nine, the Nittany Lions slowly worked their way back into the game once again. Then, with 8:48 to go in the game, Barnes brought the house down with a tremendous put-back dunk off of a missed layup that got the Blue and White within three. With the crowd energized by the effort, the Nittany Lions continued their run, and Marvin managed to tie the game back up at 56-56 with a jumper in the paint. The very next time down the floor, it was Marvin once again doing damage in the lane, this time with a layup that made it 58-56 in favor of the hosts. Gallaudet managed to retake a three-point lead with 4:39 left to play, but it was Abington who made the final charge that counted, with Marvin fittingly scoring the eventual game-winning points on a pair of free throws with 25 seconds left to play. When the final horn sounded, the Nittany Lions came away with a much-needed 73-69 victory, their first in the NEAC this season.
 
Marvin and Barnes led the Nittany Lions scorers, while Smith chipped in another 12 points and Kevin Cooper added 10. Where Penn State Abington really did their damage was inside the painted area, as the hosts outscored the Bison 40-20 inside. Gallaudet did their best to hang in with strong outside shooting, particularly from Trey Gordon and Ben Coleman, who combined to go 7-for-9 from beyond the arc. However, it wasn't enough to stem the Penn State Abington comeback. With the win, the Nittany Lions move to 3-3 and 1-1 in conference play, and will take a six day break before facing Bryn Athyn College next Tuesday, December 10^th for their final match before the holidays. Be sure to keep checking in at abingtonsports.com for all your news and notes on Penn State Abington athletics!