Roaring Lions Win Thriller Over Beaver

Lemont Furnace, PA - In a playoff-like atmosphere, the nation's #2 Penn State Fayette Roaring Lions (10-0, 14-3) used a strong second half to fend off rival Penn State Beaver (4-4, 4-12) 88-81 at the Community Center's Main Arena.  

The game was back and forth, the tempo up and down, and the air electrifying, as the Roaring Lions shot 66% from the field and 56% from the arc in the second half to seal the victory. Senior forward Jacob Bronder surpassed the 1,000 point mark in a Penn State uniform with a little over 7:00 left in the game. Senior forward Matt McKenna and Junior guard Luke Williams paced the offensive attack with 31 and 28 points respectively. The two combined to shoot 25-37 from the field, with Williams nailing 5 of 7 from long range. In a game that saw only three lead changes, Williams gave the Roaring Lions their first lead of the night at the 15:00 mark with a long 3-pointer. The Roaring Lions used another corner three pointer with 5:34 left in the game from Senior forward Dierre Jenkins to take a 70-69 lead and the momentum. Junior point guard CJ Gaddis continued to run the court as a floor general, shelling out nine assists. Gaddis is the nation's leader, averaging nearly eight per game. His floor game was perfect as well, taking care of the ball and giving himself a zero in the turnover column. Gaddis has an assist to turnover ratio of 3.0.

"The way they fought, stayed together, and played through adversity speaks volumes of the character of these young men," said head coach Mookie John. He added, "We have something very special, and they all realize it."

Bronder finished the game with 13 points and 8 rebounds, while Gaddis and Jenkins finished with 7 and 5 respectively. Sophomore guards Dominick Jackson and Tony Bristol continued to frustrate the opposition with their tenacious style of defensive play. "Dominick came in and really ran the team well offensively in both halves," John said. "He continues to sacrifice everything he has when he's on the court, and he made some really big plays tonight that didn't show up on the stat sheet," added John.  Late in the game, Bristol was fouled on a fast-break pull-up 3-point attempt, and sunk 2 of the 3 free throws. "The two foul shots that Tony nailed were within the last 2 minutes of the game, and they proved to be huge," commented John.

The Roaring Lions will host #5 Penn State Mont Alto Saturday at 7:00.  The game will be broadcast locally on WMBS 590 AM and will stream the audio online from www.wmbs590.com.