Box Score BRYN ATHYN, Pa. –  The Penn State Abington men's basketball team opened the New Year by defeating Bryn Athyn College 81-73 on Saturday afternoon at the Asplundh Field House.

Avery Barnes led the Nittany Lions with 24 points on 12-of-16 shooting and came up with 11 rebounds and three monster blocks on the day, while Mike Marvin recorded his sixth double-doubles of the season with 19 points and 17 rebounds.

The Nittany Lions (4-3) outrebounded the Lions of Bryn Athyn (3-8) 53-25 and shot 57.1 percent from the stripe compared to Bryn Athyn's 44.4 percent.

Marvin got the Blue and White started offensively, scoring five of his team's first seven points to open the game. Bryn Athyn kept the game close as Deion Boyer nailed a shot from downtown to tie the game at seven with 15:13 remaining in the first half. Marvin continued to carry the Nittany Lions, scoring on a layup to extend the lead to seven with nine minutes on the clock.

Bryn Athyn refused to give up, making every basket count on the next four possessions before Boyer nailed a 3-pointer to tie up the game for the third time at 26 points with 5:16 to play. Thanks to a trio of layups from Max Alton, Barnes, and Marvin followed by a 3-pointer from Kyle Battell, Abington jumped ahead with a nine point lead as Devin Jones sank both free throws to make it a 11 point game at the break, making the score showing 37-26 in favor of the visiting team.

The second half was all about the Blue and White as Barnes opened the stanza with a 8-3 run as Barnes and Alton each scored back-to-back baskets. Bryn Athyn continued to pound the court, looking to get back in to the game but Abington's defense kept the shots outside the perimeter, pulling in the rebounds and converting the next four possessions into points for a 55-46 game with 12:00 to play.

With Abington leading by as much as 12 points with 8:46 to go, the momentum began to shift in favor of the home team as Boyer hit his mark from beyond the arc to spark an 11-0 run for the Lions as Bryn Athyn rallied back from a 12 point deficit to make it a one point game with 3:40 remaining. A pair of threes from both teams kept the score close until Jones nailed his third three-pointer of the day to spark a 10-6 run as Penn State Abington held on for the 81-73 victory as time expired.

Jones went 5-of-9 from the field, scoring 15 points as Alton became the fourth player to score in double digit after tallying 13 points and was credited with three blocks as well.

Penn State Abington returns to action when it travels to Glenside, Pa. to face the Knights of Arcadia University on Monday, Jan. 6. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. Be sure to keep checking in at abingtonsports.com for all your news and notes on Penn State Abington athletics!