IMMACULATA, PA. – Down by a point in the final minute, a last second layup from John Ryan gave the Nittany Lions a 68-67 win over Immaculata on Tuesday night.  The Nittany Lions improve to 2-1 for the season after the thrilling victory.

Leading the pack junior Jay Fitzgerald drained 21 points for the Nittany Lions. Three others for Abington joined Fitzgerald in double figures with Alex Salata III (14), Bobby Olsen (13), and Pernell Ghee (11) scored 38 points combined.

The Nittany Lions jumped out an early 7-0 lead highlighted by a three-ball right off the bat from Olsen. Abington held the lead and pushed their lead to 10 when Fitzgerald drained his shot from downtown to give the Nittany Lions the 27-17 lead.  A 12-2 run for the Mighty Macs tied the game with only three minutes left in the half.  Fitzgerald drained a jumper with only a minute remaining to give Abington a 35-31 lead, but a late three-pointer for the Mighty Macs helped the hosts pull within one point at the break.

Abington held the slim margin through the second half but the Nittany Lions shut down the Mighty Macs three-point shooting, not allowing a single shot from behind the arc.  Immacuata hung around by earning fouls and converting their free throws going 11-12 at the stripe.  With under a minute to go the game the Nittany Lions held a 66-60 lead, but the Mighty Macs scored seven points in 40 seconds thanks to clutch free throw shooting with their first lead of the game. The Nittany Lions had the final possession of the game and missed their first shot, but Fitzgerald saved the day with the offensive rebound. With two seconds left on the clock the Nittany Lions had the ball on the baseline. A perfect inbounds pass from Brian Randolph III gave John Ryan space to hit only his second shot of the game for the win.

Abington looks to continue momentum this weekend with their home opener when they host Arcadia University on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.