HUNTINGDON, PA. – In the first round of the Doc Greene Tournament the Penn State Abington men's basketball team faced off against Johnson and Wales (RI), but fell to the Wildcats 84-76 on Friday night. After the loss the Nittany Lions fall to 5-2 for the season.

Senior Rodeo Thompson led the way for the Nittany Lions with 15 points.

Both teams struggled to score in the opening minutes of action, but the Wildcats pulled ahead in the first five minutes.  An 8-0 run for Johnson and Wales pushed their lead to 14-6 after earning tough points in the paint. Junior Jay Fitzgerald cut the deficit with 11 minutes to go after draining a sweet shot from behind the arc. Down by 11 points the Nittany Lions clawed their way back to within three points in the final five minutes thanks to clutch shooting from Fitzgerald.  With two minutes left on the clock John Ryan hit a three of his own with Nittany Lions down 36-35, but the Wildcats stole momentum with a 7-0 run to end the half.

Thompson came out of the break with the hot hand draining two layups to bring the Nittany Lions back within a point in the first two minutes of action.  Johnson and Wales continued to hold the slim lead until Pernell Ghee put in a layup and drew the foul for the and one, to give the Nittany Lions their first lead of the half up 51-50. The lead changed hands, but the Nittany Lions pulled ahead with a 59- 55 with another layup from Thompson.  Next the Wildcats streaked ahead with an 11-0 run and held the lead late into the second half. A clutch three-ball for the Wildcats down the stretch helped them pull ahead and later clinched the game knocking down free-throws.

Abington looks to rebound when they face off against Houghton College tomorrow afternoon to complete the Doc Greene Tournament.