Beaver Falls to Villa Maria in Holiday Tourney

Monaca, PA -- Beaver Falls to Villa Maria in First Game of Holiday Tournament 

By: Chris Rotondo

Penn State Beaver faced off at home Friday night against Villa Maria, falling 80-66. The game was the first of 2 games for the men this weekend in the Beaver Holiday Tournament. 

As the game started, Beaver gained an early four point lead as freshman Andrew Brady made an early jump shot. A layup by junior Will Pierce put Beaver ahead 6-1 in the opening minutes of the game, but Villa Maria quickly began to pull ahead as Beaver led by two. A missed 3-point jump shot by senior Eric Gallupe ultimately hurt the team, as Villa Maria quickly pushed ahead of their opponent with a couple of 3-point jump shots of their own. The mood of the game quickly changed, as Villa Maria began to dominate, leading the game by as much as 13 points. Beaver had trouble making layups, while their opponent flourished while in possession of the ball. Senior DJ Austin made a few steals and turnovers, but for the most part, the team struggled to gain points as the lead widended. In the final minutes of the half, the team began to crawl back, thanks in part to a jump shot from Gallupe. As the half ended, Beaver was trailing 43-45.

As the second half began, Beaver came close to tying the game, thanks in part to a 3-pointer by Austin, but Villa Maria stayed ahead with more 3-pointers. While the team made occasional baskets, Villa Maria dominated while in possession of the ball. With about seven minutes left in the game, Beaver trailed by 20 points. Austin, Gallupe and sophomore Dominique Stevenson led the team in its attempts to narrow the lead, but they could not come ahead of their opponent. Beaver ultimately fell to Villa Maria 80-66.

Beaver is now 2-9 this season. The team will return to their home court tomorrow afternoon to take on Cincinnati-Clermont. That conference game will be the second of the team's two matches in this weekend's Beaver Holiday Tournament.