Box Score

Penn St.-Abington PSA 5-7,1-1 United East

Centenary (NJ) CentNJ 2-11,0-0 Atlantic East

Penn St.-Abington PSA

5-7,1-1 United East

Final

Dec. 30, 2023

Centenary (NJ) CentNJ

2-11,0-0 Atlantic East

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Penn St.-Abington PSA	41	30	71
Centenary (NJ) CentNJ	32	34	66

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 12/30/2023 12:00:00 AM

Abington Closes out 2023 with Victory Over Cyclones

Next Game:

St. Joseph's University Brooklyn

1/3/2024 | 6:00 p.m.

Next Game

Full Schedule

Jan. 03 (Wed) / 6:00 p.m.

St. Joseph's University Brooklyn

History

Recap
Roster

Hackettstown, N.J. – The Penn State Abington men's basketball team will ring in the New Year on a high note after defeating Centenary University, 71-66, to close out the Cyclone Holiday Classic on Saturday afternoon at the John M. Reeves Student Recreation Center.

Score: Penn State Abington 71, Centenary 66
Records: Penn State Abington (5-7, 0-1 UEC) | Centenary (2-11, 0-0 AEC)
Location: Hackettstown, N.J. (Reeves Center)

How It Happened

* Abington trailed just once in the game, and it was the opening possession by the Cyclones, with Gregory Garcia scoring a layup basket for the game's first two points. The Nittany Lions responded on their first possession and fifth-year guard Alex Podolski drained a three-pointer to give Abington the lead from there on out.

* The Nittany Lions led by as many as 13 points in the first half on multiple occasions with the latter coming in the final two minutes. Junior Kolby Miller scored a fastbreak basket to make the score 41-28. Abington took a 41-32 lead into the locker rooms at halftime.

* In the second half the Cyclones made things interesting cutting into the Abington lead and coming within one possession of tying the game. A three-pointer by Trevor Giordano made the score 54-51 at the 9:31 mark but Abington responded with a quick 8-0 run over the next three minutes to increase its lead back to double-digits at 62-51. Podolski capped the run with a layup score with 6:32 to play.

* Centenary made another push late and this time cut the lead down to just two points with less than two minutes to play in regulation at 66-64. However, Abington's offense once again responded with back-to-back scores on its next two possessions. Redshirt sophomore Christian Niles pushed the lead to six (70-64) with :37 seconds left with a layup score.

Inside the Numbers

* Senior Jake Schalki recorded his eighth straight double-double as he finished with 14 points (6-9 FG) and a game-high 11 rebounds. Schalki also blocked a pair of shots and had two steals on defense.

* Sophomore Dylan Shead came off the bench and scored a career-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. Shead drained three three-pointers and had three boards.

* Podolski led the Nittany Lions with a team-high 16 points to go along with three assists, two blocks and two steals.

* Niles also scored in double-figures as he totaled 10 points (4-8 FG).

* Miller added nine points and four rebounds.

* For Centenary, Giordano led all scorers with 20 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Garcia finished with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

All-Time Series
Today marked just the third meeting between Abington and Centenary since the start of the 2014-15 season and the first since 2015-16. The Nittany Lions are now 1-2 versus the Cyclones in the all-time series.

Next Up
Abington returns to action after the New Year as the Nittany Lions host St. Joseph's University Brooklyn in a non-conference contest on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at the Abington Athletic Building. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

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