Beaver outlasts DuBois with second-half push

By: Matylda Zamudio

MONACA Pa.––After trailing by 1 at halftime, the Penn State Beaver men's basketball team rallied back to a 66-54 win against visitors Penn State DuBois thanks to a strong 29-16 effort in the second half.

Senior guard John Foster (Austin/Del Valle) led the way for Beaver with a game-high 24 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks, followed by sophomore forward/center Jeremy Redwine (Merced), who picked up a double-double with 12 points and11 rebounds.

Junior guard Keon Butler (Annapolis/Star Severn School) also finished with 12 points, four steals, one assist and one steal.

1st half:  The game was close from the start, but the Lions pulled ahead 8-2 after Butler converted on a steal by senior guard Kevin Louis-Charles (Lawrenceville/ Central Gwinnett) at the 16:30 mark. However, DuBois hit right back with a pair of treys and a pair of free-throws in the next minute to go up by 2 (10-8). But Foster sparked an offensive push for Beaver as he scored 10 unanswered points to propel the Lions to a double-digit advantage (20-10). But DuBois responded by making a 14-0 run to take the lead from Beaver at the 8:58 mark (24-20). Down the stretch, DuBois held a 7-point edge over the Lions, but they were able to tie the game on a free-throw by junior forward Andrew Brady (Alliance/Marlington) with 36 seconds of play left in the first half (36-36) and then again at the 29-second mark to take the lead 37-36. However, DuBois knocked back a bucket with only 3 seconds left to put the Lions behind by 1 point at halftime (38-37).

2nd half:  The teams kept it close in the second half of the contest, tying several times before Butler unleashed back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Lions ahead by 4 at 5:26 (57-53). In the final minutes of the game, the Lions took over as they scored another 9 points while holding DuBois to only 1 to earn a 66-54 PSUAC victory for the evening.

Inside the Box: Beaver shot 46.9 percent from the field, connecting on 23-49 shots, 36.8 percent from 3-point range on 7-19 shots and 81.3 percent from the free-throw line, hitting 13-16 from the charity stripe.

The Lions improve to 10-11 overall and 7-8 in the PSUAC standings. The Lions will be back for more PSUAC conference action at home this Saturday, Feb. 8, where they will host Penn State New Kensington. Tipoff is at 1 p.m.