ABINGTON, PA – Penn State Abington fought back from an eight-point, second-half deficit to force overtime, but it was visiting Wells College that came away with the 69-68, United East Conference victory.
A 6-0 run in the middle stages of the second half gave the Express a 51-43 advantage. The Nittany Lions (8-7, 2-4) found themselves trailing by five in the final two minutes, but they were able to find their way back into the game thanks to a massive corner 3-pointer from
Zack Semmler with 1:04 left in the game. On the ensuing possession,
Alex Podolski came up with a steal and was fouled. He calmly drained both free throws to make it a 59-59 ballgame with 31 seconds left in regulation.
Penn State Abington forced Wells into a shot clock violation, and it got the ball back with 1.5 seconds left. However, a length of the court pass sailed out of bounds, and it gave the Express another opportunity at Abington's end of the court. A pass was deflected away, sending the game to overtime.
In the extra session, Ty McBride drained a trey six seconds in and Wells eventually took a seven-point lead. The Nittany Lions fought back again and got to within two with 11 seconds left before a Jalen Feliz layup with four ticks remaining sealed the deal for the Express (11-6, 5-3). Podolski added the final points with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Express got off to a 22-11 lead early, but Penn State Abington was able to storm back thanks to a 16-1 run and a 27-24 advantage.
Brian Randolph III led the spurt with seven points. The Nittany Lions went up by as many as six and took a 37-35 lead into the intermission. Wells erased that early, setting the stage for the late-game drama and overtime.
Randolph III led the Nittany Lions with 13 points alongside 12 rebounds and five steals, team-highs in each category.
Darrion Harris and Podolski were also in double digits for the Nittany Lions with 12 and 11 points respectively. Once again, Penn State Abington's bench played a huge part in its comeback bid, outscoring Wells' bench, 22-7.
Feliz had a game-high 23 points while Ransel Rodriguez added 21 points for the express.
The Nittany Lions are back in action at home on Tuesday, January 25 against Lancaster Bible College.
