Fayette fights off late rally, defeats Beaver in 100-82 thriller
MONACA, Pa. – Matt McKenna's third consecutive double-double helped Fayette to an important 100-92 win over Penn State Beaver at the Beaver Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.
Fayette (6-3, 3-0) used its usual formula – place four players in double figures, play solid defense and run in the open court – to seal the win.'
McKenna (Pttsburgh, Pa.) scored 28 to go with 14 rebounds and seven steals. Brandon Cunningham (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) added 25 on a 10-16 shooting night and added four steals. Jake Bronder (Pleasant Hills, Pa.) added 17, and Luke Williams (Maui, Hawaii) 13.
The Roaring Lions were in control early in the first half, building up a 15-point lead by halftime. Fayette was able to build that lead despite missing the nation's assists leader, C.J. Gaddis (Brownsville, Pa.), who spent a significant portion of the half on the bench with three fouls.much of the time on the bench with three fouls.
Things got a little more concerning when he picked up foul number four just a minute into the second half. Gaddis would eventually foul out of the game around the 10 minute mark.
Slowly Beaver started to chip away at the lead and a Chris Best jumper with 15:50 to go cut the lead to nine and seven minutes later the Lions were down four. However, Cunningham came up with a big steal and scored on the breakaway and a minute later, Williams did the same.
Beaver had another run in them. A pair of Marcus Smith free throws closed the gap to two with just under 4 minutes to play. McKenna got a steal and layup, Bronder countered Will James' layup with a jumper for a 90-85 lead. James hit another jumper to close the gap to three again, but that would be as close as the Lions would get again.
From there, the Roaring Lions went on an 8-3 run to get a critical PSUAC victory.
Beaver mounted a furious charge in the second half and on three occasions cut the lead to three, but each time Fayette was able to answer thanks to some clutch three point shooting from Williams and timely scoring from Cunningham helped to ensure Fayette walked away with the win.
The Roaring Lions host Penn State Wilkes Barre on Saturday at 3 p.m. The game can be heard on 590 AM WMBS and on the internet by clicking the audio link beside the game in the schedule portion of our Website: www.goroaringlions.com