Box Score Abington, Pa. – The Penn State Abington men's basketball team led virtually wire-to-wire against rival Penn State Berks earlier this evening, defeating their fellow Nittany Lions competitors by a score of 108-104. Junior Mike Colacci led the way for Abington with a career-high 31 points, including a 13-for-13 performance from the charity stripe to seal the Penn State Abington victory.
 
After Penn State Berks (10-11, 8-3 NEAC) won the tipoff and scored on their opening possession, Penn State Abington dominated the rest of the first half. Abington used a 22-2 run to open up a 22-5 lead with 12:05 left to play in the frame. Penn State Berks was able to stem the tide briefly by trading baskets with Abington, but then the home team went on another run. This time, with scoring from four different players, the Nittany Lions went on a 12-4 run to open up a 38-13 lead over their visiting rivals. The 25-point lead was the largest Abington would see for the remainder of the night. Although Berks did manage to chip away ever so slightly at their deficit, by the time the halftime buzzer sounded, Abington was still ahead by 23 points, holding a 50-27 advantage going into the locker rooms.
 
Penn State Abington (10-12, 8-3 NEAC) kept their lead around the 20-point range for the opening thirteen minutes of the second half. Berks could get no closer than 14 in that span of time, and every time the visiting Nittany Lions got close, Abington would simply find another gear and jump right back ahead by over 20 points. Finally, with just 6:46 left to play, the game got interesting. Berks was able to string together their first solid run of the game. The visitors used a 14-0 run to turn an 86-66 deficit into trailing just 86-88 with 4:31 to play in the game. Mike Marvin sank a pair of free throws at this point to staunch the bleeding for Abington, but Berks simply came right back and made another run. Berks made a layup, got a big defensive stop on a blocked layup, and then came down to the other end of the court and drained four free throws. Two of those free throws were earned on a common foul, and the other two awarded after a technical foul was called against Abington.
 
With a once insurmountable lead down to just two points at this late in the game, many teams would have simply folded and let the challenger run away with the rest of the contest. If the Nittany Lions were to avoid this fate, they needed some upper class leadership, and they needed it badly. Up stepped Mike Colacci. Colacci took the next possession and drove the ball deep into the paint, earning a foul. After subsequently draining both freebies, senior Ken Watson came up with a block on the defensive end, and the ball found its way back into the hands of Colacci, who was fouled once again. After again making both free throws, and Abington again coming up with a defensive stop, the junior sniper from Middlesex, N.J. came up with what was possibly his biggest shot of the night, sinking a three-ball from the right side that pushed Abington ahead by a score of 95-86.
 
 Berks tried their best to make one last run at Abington in the closing minutes, but it was simply a matter of too little, too late for the visitors. Abington managed to stay comfortably ahead of their rivals until inside of the final minute, when the Berks full-court press caused Abington to turn the ball over several times. Finally, Berks cut Abington's lead to just three points with 17 seconds to play, but Mike Marvin made four free throws in those final seconds to seal a 108-104 victory for Penn State Abington.
 
Colacci led all scorers in tonight's game with 31 total points. Mike Marvin put together yet another double-double, scoring 27 points and grabbing 17 boards. Max Alton and Ken Watson were also big for the Nittany Lions tonight, with Alton putting up 18 points and 5 assists, and Watson getting 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks, all career-highs for the senior forward. For Berks, it was Dontez Reid who led the way with 20 points, followed by Dameon Nixon and Tom Smith with 19 and 18 respectively.
 
The victory is a huge one for Penn State Abington, as it moves them into a tie for first place in the NEAC South Division with tonight's opponent, Penn State Berks. Both teams hold an 8-3 conference record heading into the last week-and-a-half of conference regular season play. The win is also the sixth straight victory for the Penn State Abington men's basketball team, a feat that has not been accomplished since the program joined the NEAC in 2009. The team will have their next chance to continue this impressive winning streak when they play their final home game this Sunday afternoon against Gallaudet University. Gametime is set for 2:00 pm. Be sure to come out and cheer on your Nittany Lions as they celebrate Senior Day before the games this Sunday.