Box Score Lancaster, Pa. – The Penn State Abington men's basketball squad took a tough loss earlier Saturday afternoon in their North Eastern Athletic Conference semifinal tilt against Morrisville State College. The Mustangs used a strong run late in the first half to take a commanding lead over the Blue and White, who were unable to comeback in the second half en route to a 72-91 loss. Mike Marvin put in a hard day's work for the Nittany Lions down low, scoring a team-high 23 points on 10-of-20 from the field. Avery Barnes added a double-double in the losing effort, scoring 11 points and pulling down 12 total rebounds, while Nisiar Smith and Max Alton added 14 and 12 points respectively. For the Mustangs, it was Jordan Prior who led the way, scoring a game-high 26 points, with 22 of those coming in the first frame. Four other players scored in double-digits for Morrisville State, who continue on to tomorrow's championship contest where they will take on the hosts, Lancaster Bible College. The Chargers defeated Penn State Berks in today's other semifinal contest.
 
The Nittany Lions (14-12, 11-7 NEAC) managed to start the game off by jumping right out to an early lead when Mike Marvin was able to convert an offensive rebound into a layup to make it a 2-0 game 17 seconds into the contest. Unfortunately, it was the first and last time the Blue and White would find themselves in the lead for the rest of the game. Morrisville State (18-8, 13-5 NEAC) tied the game back up a minute later, then went on a big run to go up by 13 with 11:33 left in the half. After a quick timeout by the head coach Chris Potash, the Nittany Lions battled back, and when Smith nailed a three-pointer from the wing with 5:56 left in the frame, Penn State Abington trailed by just three points. They were able to trade baskets with the Mustangs over the next few minutes, hovering around a three to six point margin. However, with 4:00 left in the first half, Morrisville State put together another run that, for all intents and purposes, put the game out of reach early. Over that final span, the Mustangs went on a 13-2 run, including numerous trips to the free throw line, a solid dunk, and capped off with an easy layup off of an offensive rebound. When the half finally ended, the Blue and White headed to the lockers trailing by a score of 51-37.
 
Unfortunately, the second half did not get much better for the Nittany Lions. After trailing by fourteen at the break, Penn State Abington was only able to get their deficit as low as nine points about midway through the second half. When the Nittany Lions were finally able to string together solid offensive possessions with defensive stops, the Mustangs answered right back with a run of their own to put the game back out of reach. Max Alton and Kyle Battell drained back-to-back threes to cut the margin to 13, and a bit later Alton and Battell hit back-to-back baskets again to make it a nine point contest. But over the final 3:36 of gametime, the Mustangs went on an 11-3 run to close out the game and seal the 91-72 win. Morrisville State won three different areas on the stat sheet to earn the W; they forced 18 turnovers and made 22 points off those turnovers, compared to just 8 points off turnovers for the Blue and White. They also scored 16 second-chance points, compared to just six for the Nittany Lions. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, Morrisville State managed to take, and make, easier shots, with 46, or over 50%, of their points coming inside the painted area, a place where the Nittany Lions normally dominate affairs.
 
Although the loss is tough to take, there are still some positives to take out of the 2013-14 campaign for the Blue and White. The Nittany Lions finish with a 14-12 record, their first time over the .500 mark in at least six seasons. These past four seasons, Penn State Abington's men's basketball squad has progressively gotten better and better, moving from a 3-22 record in the 2010-11 season to their best record in at least six seasons this year. The program also might have a chance of continuing their post-season play, as although the team was knocked out of the NEAC conference tournament, there is still a possibility the program might get a bid into the ECAC tournament later on in March. Be sure to keep checking in at abingtonsports.com for all your news and updates on any possible further games to come this season.