Lions banks PSUAC win against New Kensington during Spirit Weekend

By: Matylda Zamudio

MONACA Pa. –– The Penn State Beaver men's basketball team scored a 68-53 win against Penn State New Kensington on day two of Spirit Weekend Saturday afternoon, extending the team's winning-streak to two-straight PSUAC matches this week.

Junior guard Keon Butler (Annapolis/Star Severn School) led the way for Beaver with a game-high 21 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals followed by senior guard John Foster (Austin/Del Valle), who added on 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists and steals.

Sophomore forward/center Jeremy Redwine (Merced) picked up a double-double for Beaver with 12 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks and one steal.

1st half:  Junior guard Sonny Martinez (Austin) struck first with a trey in the first minute on a feed by Foster. Beaver held a slight led over New Kensington over the next few minutes until Foster fired a deep 3-pointer to propel the Lions ahead by 7 at 11:59 (15-8). At 10:20, Butler fired a trey of his own on a feed by Foster, who knocked down a trey himself within a minute span to put Beaver up by double-digits (23-11). With the Lions up by 15 at 5:59, New Kensington delivered three unanswered layups to cut the margin down to a single-digit lead for Beaver (28-19). Down the stretch, New Kensington got the game within 7 with a late layup with 32 seconds left in the first, but Butler answered right back with a layup at the three-second mark to put Beaver up by 9 at halftime (34-25).

2nd half: New Kensington didn't stay quiet in the opening minutes of the second half and got the game within two possessions at 18:32 (34-29). The teams kept it close for the next 10 minutes, with Beaver staying 5-9 points ahead. Then at 7:59, Redwine nailed two free-throws and followed them up with another 2-points in a minute span to put Beaver ahead by double-digits once again, which sparked a 12-0 run for the Lions (60-42). The Lions then held New Kensington to 9 while adding on 8 more points to run away with a 68-53 win for the day. Butler delivered big for Beaver in the second half, contributing 12 points in the period as he went 3-5 form the field and 6-11 from the charity stripe.

Inside the Box: Beaver shot 49.1 percent from the field, connecting on 26-53 shots, 27.8 percent from 3-point range on 5-18 shots and 47.8 percent from the free-throw line, hitting 11-23 from the charity stripe.

The Lions improve to 11-11 overall and 8-8 in the PSUAC standings. The Lions will be back for more PSUAC conference action on the road next Saturday, Feb. 15, where they will take on Penn State Greater Allegheny. Tipoff is at 3 p.m.