Heartbreak Hotel: Roaring Lions Fall to Mont Alto 68-64 in PSUAC Quarterfinals

LEMONT FURNACE, Pa. – If the King of Rock 'n Roll was a Roaring Lions fan, no doubt he'd be cueing up a rendition of Heartbreak Hotel right about now. Penn State Mont Alto was able to overcome an early deficit and hand Fayette a heartbreaking 68-64 loss on Tuesday that eliminated the Roaring Lions from the PSUAC championship tournament.

Fayette jumped to an early 20-9 lead only to see the Lions go on a 18-6 run to close the half with a 27-26 lead.

Jeremiah Mitchell's jumper at 10:46 of the second half gave Mont Alto a 52-38 lead.

Brandon Cunningham (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) answered with a three that ignited a 10-4 run that closed the gap to 56-51 on a pair of James Pratt (Uniontown, Pa.) free throws.

A pair of Cunningham threes sandwiched around a pair of free throws from David Winns (Washington, D.C.) made it 60-58 in favor of Mont Alto with less than two minutes to play.

After Mont Alto hit a pair of free throws, Pratt answered with two of his own to bring Fayette back to within four but a pair of Cameron Bowens free throws with eight seconds left punched Mont Alto's ticket to the PSUAC Final Four.

Cunningham led all scorers with 20 points, collected six rebounds and had five steals. Winns notched the double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds to go along with four blocks.

Ryan Hart (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added nine, while Pratt dished out six assists.

The loss drops the Roaring Lions to 14-12 on the year and 13-5 in PSUAC play.

The Roaring Lions will be off until their first round game in the 2013 USCAA National Basketball Championships, hosted by Penn State Fayette. The Roaring Lions will most likely play on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m.