Friday, March 6, 2009 - Penn State Fayette, Uniontown, PA - The Penn State-Beaver Nittany Lions marched one step closer to its hopes for a USCAA National Championship, as it defeated University of Cincinnati-Clermont, 73-55.
The 1st half was a see-saw battle as both teams traded buckets as the teams got a feel for the flow of the game. Clermont went up by five points early on (18:55 mark of the first half) as Beaver tried to establish its defensive and offensive rhythm. Freshman Tony Houghton (Perry Traditional/Pittsburgh, PA) attacked the rim and got some easy scores to keep Beaver in the lead early on. Junior Zach Fetchin (Hopewell High School/Aliquippa, PA) made some difficult baseline turnaround jumpers from the right wing to maintain the Beaver lead at 33-26 at the half.
In the 2nd half, Clermont would make a run cutting the Beaver lead to four mid-way through the half. Three point shots by Ian Gordon (Colerain High School/Cincinnati, OH) and Seth Steele (Hughes Center High School/Cincinnati, OH) keep Clermont in the game as the Cougars attempted to grab the lead from the Lions.
However, Tim Kubis (Hopewell High School/Aliquippa, PA) would have none of that. The Junior point guard, stroked two huge three point shots, and Senior Matt Franitti (Blackhawk HS/Beaver Falls, PA) dished out 7 assists of his own, to put Beaver up by 21 with 4:47 remaining in the game, on route to a 74-55 victory.
Fetchin posted a double-double effort, as he scored 27 points and snatched 12 rebounds. Also in double figure points for Beaver were Kubis with 16 points and Houghton with 14 points.
For the game Beaver shot a solid 51.7% from the field (30-58), scored 42 points in the paint, and converted 18 Clermont turnovers into 19 points.
The win improves the Lions to 24-6 on the season and sets the table for the #1 vs. #2 seed matchup in the Championship game as Beaver now faces defending USCAA DII Champion Williamson Trade School on March 7th, 2009 at 10 p.m. for the 2009 USCAA Championship.
