UTICA, NY – The Penn State Abington men's basketball team traveled to SUNY Poly, but couldn't pull off the upset in a 76-60 loss on Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions fall to 11-11 for the year and 8-5 in the North Eastern Athletic Conference.

Sophomore guard Jay Fitzgerald (Philadelphia, PA) led the Nittany Lions with 16 points and three assists.  Junior guard John Ryan (Warminster, PA) knocked down 10 points in the effort.

The Wildcats started out hot hitting their first three shots with a 7-0 run. Abington clawed their way back and came within a bucket after Ryan took a fast break down the court for the layup, down 14-12.  Abington stayed within striking distance until the Nittany Lions got into foul trouble with the Wildcats hitting four consecutive free-throws to push their lead into double digits.  The Nittany Lions were down 40-32 at the half.

Ryan drained his three-ball to open the second half and pull the Nittany Lions within five.  Another fast break bucket by Charles Ervin (Quakertown, PA) cut the deficit to 43-39 with 15:30 on the clock. Through the second half the Nittany Lions couldn't stop the Wildcats shooting from the floor. SUNY Poly stayed out in front by shooting 46 percent from the floor, and held off the Nittany Lions.

Tomorrow Abington will be back in action when they travel to SUNY Cobleskill with tipoff at 2:00 p.m.