Box Score Glenside, Pa. – Penn State Abington dropped a 75-89 decision on the road at Arcadia earlier this evening, as the Nittany Lions struggled to overcome a slow start in the affair. Mike Marvin led the Blue and White with his sixth double-double of the season, scoring 24 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Nisiar Smith put up 15 points and 8 rebounds, while Max Alton and Devin Jones each chipped in ten points themselves. On the Arcadia side, Joe Brown recorded a double-double of his own with 17 points and ten boards, while Travis Saltus put up 19 points and John Landro added 15 off the bench.

Penn State Abington (4-4, 1-1 NEAC) actually managed to open a lead on the Knights in the early stages of the game thanks to some solid defensive work. After the hosts ran out to a 6-1 lead, the Nittany Lions scored the next seven points to take an 8-6 advantage. Junior forward Mike Marvin drained a pair of jumpers for the Blue and White's first two buckets of the game to draw within one before fellow junior Max Alton sank a three-ball to give the visitors their first lead at the 15:54 mark of the first half. Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, it was the final time they would hold the lead all night. Arcadia (6-5, 1-3 MAC) went on a 12-0 run over the next three minutes to take an 18-8 lead. Penn State Abington scrapped back to within one on a 9-0 run of their own, capped off by a lay-in by Nisiar Smith with 10:07 left to play in the half. However, the Nittany Lions simply couldn't keep up with the hot shooting of the Knights in the first half. Over the final ten minutes of the opening frame, Arcadia went on a 30-14 run and took a 48-31 lead into the locker room.

Throughout the early minutes of the second half, the teams basically traded baskets, keeping the margin well into the double digits. However, the Nittany Lions managed to string together a 7-0 run midway through that cut their deficit to just eight points. Alex Agyedu got things started with a jumper before Smith drained a three-pointer and then capped off the run at the 9:30 mark with a thunderous dunk to make it a 55-63 game. Over the remaining minutes, Penn State Abington would cut the lead to eight points three more times, but it was as close as they would get. By the time the final horn sounded, the Knights had opened the game back up and finished with the 89-75 victory.

With the loss, the Nittany Lions slip back to the .500 mark at 4-4 on the year. Penn State Abington now faces a series of four straight North Eastern Athletic Conference games, and by virtue of scheduling, all of them come at home. The first of this set of important conference tests comes this Saturday, January 11th against Wells College. The Express currently hold a 3-0 record in conference play and are tied for first in the league with Lancaster Bible. Game time is set for 2:00 pm this Saturday on the campus of Penn State Abington. Be sure to keep checking in at abingtonsports.com for any news and notes on Nittany Lions athletics!