ABINGTON, Pa. – A huge first half for the Penn State Abington men's basketball helped them pull off the upset of the year, defeating the previously unbeaten Lancaster Bible Chargers 84-76 on Valentines night.  The Nittany Lions proved that the titans of the NEAC were human and improved their record 10-12 overall and 8-7 in the conference.

After today's win the Nittany Lions locked in their first NEAC tournament appearance since 2015 and the first in head coach Jon Tanous' tenure.

Freshman Devin Hill (Philadelphia, PA) again led the Nittany Lions with 23 points four assists and five rounds, and right behind Jay Fitzgerald (Philadelphia, PA) knocked down 20 points.  Sophomore John Ryan (Warminster, PA) and freshman Pernell Ghee (Germantown, PA) also hit the double-digit mark in scoring for the night.

The Nittany Lions were incredible from the floor in the first half, shooting the lights out of the building. Abington went 8-of-10 from behind the arc, and put up an impressive 60 percent from the floor.

Ghee started the game with the hot hand hitting two three-pointers with a bucket in the paint to energize the Nittany Lions to an 11-5 advantage in the first minutes of action. The Chargers responded with an 11-2 run to take the lead, but the Nittany Lions didn't fold.  A three-ball from Hill sparked the Nittany Lions and helped them take back the game. With over three minutes remaining Abington held a five point advantage, but a huge 11-2 run for the Nittany Lions helped them to a commanding 46-32 lead at the break.

In the second half LBC was charged up for the rally, and quickly cut the lead to three points in the first five minutes.  The Chargers tied the game with nine minutes remaining in the second half, but Hill immediately responded with his step-back shot from downtown.  With only three minutes remaining the Chargers finally took the lead with another fast break bucket.  Building up to this point in the game, the Nittany Lions showed character and rallied forward to take the lead behind a beautiful shot from Hill.  Abington held off the Chargers by hitting their free-throws.

The Nittany Lions will travel to Gallaudet for the last game of the regular season this Saturday at 1:00 p.m.