Box Score Washington, D.C. – The Penn State Abington men's basketball squad took home a much-needed win earlier Saturday afternoon in a seesaw affair against Gallaudet. The Nittany Lions overcame a deficit as high as 16 and also weathered a late, game-tying three pointer to pull out a 94-84 victory in quadruple overtime. The Nittany Lions were helped by six different players who scored in the double-digits, including Mike Marvin and Avery Barnes, each of whom tallied double-doubles on the afternoon. A 39-12 advantage in points off turnovers was also key to the Abington victory, as the visitors managed to force the Bison into 30 giveaways in the contest. For Gallaudet, two players each played the full 60 minutes of the contest, including Trey Gordon, who tied teammate Joshua McGriff for the game-high in scoring with 28 points. However, it was Penn State who ultimately took home the win, outscoring the hosts 16-6 in the fourth and final overtime period en route to their 13^th win of the season.
 
Gallaudet (6-17, 5-11 NEAC) put a hurting on the Nittany Lions early in the game by opening the contest on a 10-0 run. Penn State Abington (13-9, 10-5 NEAC) finally staunched the bleeding when Avery Barnes earned and made a pair of free throws four minutes into the game. Still, the first half was largely controlled by the Bison, who built their lead as high as 16 points on a three-ball from Coleman to make it 30-14 with just 6:25 remaining in the half. Perhaps that three was the straw that broke the camel's back, though, for immediately following that basket, head coach Chris Potash called a timeout to straighten out his squad. Whatever Potash said certainly put a fire in the bellies of the Nittany Lions, as immediately out of the timeout, the Blue and White went on a tremendous 22-0 run over exactly the next five minutes to turn a huge deficit into a lead. Over the course of that run, the Nittany Lions went hot from the floor, shooting 9-for-12, with the three misses becoming offensive rebounds and putbacks. The Blue and White also forced six turnovers and two fouls from the Bison on that stretch, taking away all the momentum the hosts had built up and putting it squarely back in favor of Penn State Abington. Gallaudet did manage to cut back into their new deficit somewhat before half, but when the teams finally cleared the floor for halftime, the Nittany Lions took a 38-34 lead to the locker rooms.
 
The second frame opened right where the first had left off, with the Nittany Lions using hot shooting to put together another run, capped off by a triple from Kyle Battell to make it a 44-36 game. However, that hot shooting immediately went cold, and over the next 7:21, the Nittany Lions went scoreless while Gallaudet caught back up, and then retook the lead. By the time Penn State Abington finally got a basket to go, the Bison had rung off 12 unanswered points and led 48-46. Over the final ten minutes, the Nittany Lions regained their shooting form, and managed to retake a lead of as much as nine points, but when McGriff slammed home a dunk with 1:42 left to play, the teams were once again tied at 59-59. Barnes came up big by making a jumper on the next possession for the Blue and White. Then, both sides traded empty possessions, but Mike Marvin grabbed a huge offensive rebound for the Nittany Lions with just 20 seconds left, forcing the Bison to foul and sending Max Alton to the free-throw line. Alton made one of two, giving the Nittany Lions a three-point lead with just 13 seconds left to play. Gallaudet brought the ball up to the front court and took a timeout to set up their final play with just six ticks left on the clock. Inbounding underneath the basket, the Bison managed to find Coleman in the corner for a wide open three-ball, which he promptly drained to send the game into overtime.
 
What nobody in attendance knew was that it would take four overtime sessions to separate the two teams. The first extra frame saw both teams playing rather cautiously, eating up plenty of time on each possession in search of a great shot. Both sides only got four points out of the frame, and saw the last 1:59 of the overtime go scoreless, sending the teams into overtime number two with the game knotted at 66-66. The second extra period was much more wide open, and when Barnes only made one of two free throws to open the period and make it an odd score, it looked as if this would certainly be the final frame. However, later on in the overtime, Barnes again went one-for-two at the line, evening the score back up. Then, with just 19 seconds left, Devin Jones drew a foul with a solid drive inside, and the freshman coolly stepped to the line and made the pair to put Penn State Abington ahead 76-74. However, Gallaudet was able to drive down the floor and make a layup in the paint to tie the game back up, and a big block on Abington's last attempt ensured that the game would go into a third overtime. Once again, the teams became very slow in this frame, with both sides playing solid defense and keeping the score low. In fact, both sides only made one basket each, and when Gallaudet missed their last shot of the period, a fourth overtime was in store. However, this time the Nittany Lions took control from the very beginning. Mike Marvin made a jumper just seven seconds into the period, and then, after a block by Barnes, Max Alton found himself alone on the left wing for a wide open three, which he promptly drained. Although Gallaudet came back with a dunk on their next possession, Alton immediately drilled another three-ball to put the Nittany Lions up six, and they would not look back. Over the final minutes, Gallaudet lost their shooting touch, and Penn State Abington went four-for-four from the line to close out the game and come away with a solid 94-84 victory.
 
With the win, the Nittany Lions move to 13-9 on the season, already their most wins in a season since at least 2008. Penn State Abington also now holds a 10-5 record in the North Eastern Athletic Conference, moving them into a tie for third place in the busy NEAC standings, and only one game behind Morrisville State for the second spot in the conference. The Nittany Lions will look to continue their winning ways when they play their next contest this Tuesday night against conference leaders Lancaster Bible College. The Chargers currently hold a 13-2 conference record atop the NEAC standings, and Penn State Abington will be looking to topple them and avenge an 86-91 loss from their first meeting this season all the way back in November. Game time is set for 5:00 p.m., and be sure to come out and support the teams as Penn State Abington celebrates senior night in what will be their final regular season home game of the 2013-14 season.