Box Score CAZENOVIA, N.Y. – Avery Barnes scored a game-high 24 points, and the Penn State Abington men's basketball team held on for a thrilling 89-86 win over host Cazenovia College on Friday night.

The win improves Abington to 11-6 in the North Eastern Athletic Conference and 14-10 on the year, while Cazenovia slips to 4-13 in the NEAC and 6-18 overall.

Scoring 12 of his 24 in the first half, Barnes finished the night hitting 11-of-13 from the field including a pair of shots from the charity stripe while also collecting a team-best 14 rebounds on the night. Mike Marvin contributed 20 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the win for his 20^th double-doubles of the year.

Abington would end up needing all of Barnes' and Marvin's points as the host kept contesting for the lead every two minutes in a game that saw 17 lead changes and 10 ties.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 5-0 lead from the get go before Abington quickly responded back with a layup from Max Alton to tie up the game at 12 points. The back-and-forth affair continued throughout the first half before a Devin Jones basket gave the Nittany Lions a 45-44 lead at the break.

The second half continued to be a tight contest as Abington could only extend a four-point lead before the Wildcats rallied back to either equalize the margin or take the lead for a brief minute.

With less than five minutes remaining in the game, Marvin managed to put the ball in the basket after pulling in an offensive rebound on a missed shot from teammate Devin Jones, to give Abington the 83-80 lead, before Barnes made both free throws to extend the lead to four.

Cazenovia answered quickly on a bomber from Keith Caiello at the 2:46 mark to cut the deficit to one before Barnes posted a jumper for the final basket of the game to give Abington the 89-84 lead. The Wildcats managed to add two additional points but it was not enough as time expired and the Nittany Lions held on for the 89-86 victory.

The strong beginning led to Abington shooting nearly 52 percent for the opening 20 minutes, and the squad finished the night with a field goal percentage of 54.9 percent while Cazenovia connected on 43.3 percent of its attempts. On the glass, the Nittany Lions outrebounded the wildcats by a 40-23 clip with Nisiar Smith joining Barnes and Marvin with a strong night as he grabbed six boards.

Cazenovia had five players in double figures with Cailleo pacing the team with 22 points, and the Wildcats ensured that it would stay in the game by capitalizing on Abington's turnovers, outscoring the Blue and White 15-9 on points off turnovers.

The Nittany Lions will aim to continue their winning ways when they remain on the road Saturday as the team will travel to Morrisville State for the final game of the regular season. Tip-off in Morrisville is slated for 1 p.m.