No. 18 Fayette Falls to No. 6 Penn State DuBois, 78-66
February 14, 2012
UNIONTOWN, Pa. - No. 18 Penn State Fayette fell behind late in the first half and couldn't mount a second-half comeback as no. 6 Penn State DuBois handed the Roaring Lions a 78-62 loss in a Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference Western Division showdown in the Community Center Main Arena on Tuesday night.
Fayette (11-13, 10-6 PSUAC) had their three-game winning streak snapped at the hands of the Lions (18-7, 13-4 PSUAC), who have completed their conference slate. The Roaring Lions host Penn State Scranton on Saturday, Feb. 18 to finish their 2011-12 conference campaign.
Freshman Brandon Cunningham (Rancho Cucamonga, Ca.) led three Fayette scorers in double figures with 20 points. Junior David Winns (Washington, DC) added 12 points and junior Ryan Hart (Pittsburgh, Pa.) chipped in 10 for the Roaring Lions.
The Roaring Lions led for much of the first 10 minutes of play, including an 11-4 lead with 13:57 left in the first half. But DuBois chipped away at Fayette's lead, tying the score 18-18 with 8:48 remaining before the break. After trading baskets to tie the score at 24, DuBois made an 8-0 run beginning at the 2:46 mark to pull away and eventually take a 34-27 advantage into halftime.
A Cunningham jumper would cut the DuBois lead to six, 38-32, with 18:15 remaining, but DuBois used a 9-3 spurt to build their lead to 12 with just over 14 minutes to play. Fayette would again cut the lead to four, 48-42, on the strength of four free throws and a Ryan Hart three-pointer with 11:58 left. Cunnigham hit another jump shot to make it 48-44, but DuBois would stop the Fayette spurt and used a 12-3 run of their own to lead 58-45 as play neared the nine minute mark. The Roaring Lions would never get closer than seven, as DuBois made six late free throws to seal the victory.
Fayette shot 42 percent on the night, including seven three-point field goals. DuBois made free throws when they counted, and despite making only 18 of 34 attempts from the charity stripe, the Lions made six in a row with under a minute to play. DuBois dominated the paint, outrebounding Fayette 48-33, including pulling down 23 offensive rebounds that would lead to 24 second chance points for the Lions. DuBois also outscored the Roaring Lions 42-20 in the paint.
DuBois was led by Chris Dickison with 21 points and 10 rebounds. William Welles added 16 points and 10 boards for the Lions.
The Roaring Lions host Penn State Scranton on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 3:00 p.m. to wrap up conference play. Fayette will travel to either DuBois, Penn State York or Penn State Wilkes-Barre for the quarterfinal round of the PSUAC Playoffs.