ABINGTON, PA -- Penn State Abington build a 19-point, first-half lead and then held on at the end for a 62-57 home victory over SUNY Morrisville in a United East Conference men's basketball match-up.
 
The Nittany Lions (11-10, 5-7) kicked things off with a 13-0 run, led by a pair of free throws and a three-pointer for Alex Podolski. Kolby Miller hit two jumpers alongside Podolski during that stretch.
 
A pair of three-pointers from guard Ryan Knorr with a Mohamed Mansaray layup in-between put Penn State Abington up 23-6 with eight minutes remaining in the first half. The lead went up to 19, 31-12, three minutes later on a Zack Semmler bomb, but the Mustangs (6-15, 3-9) narrowed the gap to 10, 33-23, at the intermission.
 
The Nittany Lions were up by as many as 16 in the second half before a 14-3 run by Morrisville pulled the squad to within five with 8:41 remaining. Penn State Abington responded with a run to go up 55-46 with 5:50 left before a 9-0 Mustang rally made it a 55-54 contest with 2:13 to go.

The teams exchanged layups and then Mansaray hit one of two free throws with 48 ticks to go for a 58-56 advantage. Brian Randolph III blocked a three-point shot and Podolski was fouled with 12 seconds to go. He calmly sank both before Morrisville hit one at the line for a 60-57 score. Randolph III was fouled in the waning seconds and hit both to seal the win.
 
Knorr came off the bench and led the Nittany Lions with 16 points on the night, shooting 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. Podolski finished second in scoring for the Nittany Lions with 13 points, while Randolph III finished in double digits with 10 points. Randolph III also led Abington with seven rebounds and six assists.
 
Morrisville was led by guard Tron Smith, who had 22 points on 7-for-16 shooting.
 
The Nittany Lions are back in action this weekend when they travel to Williamsport to play Penn College on Saturday, February 12 (1 p.m.).