PITTSBURGH, Pa. - # 3 Penn State Altoona (7-3) will travel to #5 Hilbert College (6-4) on Saturday afternoon for the AMCC Men's Basketball Game of the Week.  

Hilbert returns to the Hafner Rec Center after three straight AMCC road games.  The Hawks are 5-2 over the last seven games which included a 1-point loss to Behrend last week. The Lions come into this week riding high after an impressive 4-0 performance against AMCC teams last week, as the Lions defeated Mount Aloysius College and Greensburg on the road  before posting back-to-back home wins over Penn State Behrend and D'Youville College. 

Hilbert's five starters blend together and create a tough match-up daily for opponents.  Freshman PG Hunter Martineau quarterbacks the team with league-leading stats: 104 total assists, 6.5 assists per game and a 2.5 assist to turnover ratio.  Junior G Jalen Smith returned to full strength last week and continues to average 18.7 points per game to lead four players in double figure scoring.  Sophomore F Nicholas Parucki chips in 13.7 points per game behind his league-leading 59.6 percent field goal accuracy.   Junior F Derrek Carman (12.1 ppg) has collected 124 rebounds which places him 2nd in the league at 7.8 rebounds per game and senior G Kirkland Ottey is a real threat from long distance knocking down 43.5% of his 3-point shots (4th in league) and posting 11.3 points a game.

The Lions have been propelled by their four starting senior players: guard/forwards Javon Wilson, Quinn Luhr, and Anton Lucas and forward Jordan Smith. Wilson is Penn State Altoona's leading scorer, ranking fifth in the AMCC with 15.4 points per game. Luhr is 12th in the conference in rebounds per game (6.1) and 19th in scoring (12.0 points per game), and his total of 33 three-pointers made is third-best in the AMCC. Together, Wilson and Luhr have combined for 64 three-pointers this year. Lucas has provided strong defense for Penn State Altoona, ranking fifth in the AMCC in blocks (20) and ninth in steals (23) while adding 4.8 rebounds per game, and he scores 8.1 points per game. Smith's presence in the paint has been big for the Lions, as the forward is third in the AMCC in rebounds per game (7.6) and fourth in total rebounds (106), and he is averaging 9.4 points per game.

Earlier this season, Altoona rallied late in the game and captured a come-from-behind 84-83 victory over Hilbert on December 3rd.  Derrek Carman (20p) and Nicholas Parucki (19p/9r) led the Hawks in the scoring column as Altoona got help from Ishimeal Nance (19p) and Jordan Smith (17p).  Javon Wilson scored the winning free throw with 0:03 left after knocking down a deep three which cut the score to 82-81 with 30-seconds left.  Jalen Smith went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe giving Hilbert a 2-point cushion which was wiped clean on the Lion's next possession with twenty seconds left in the game.  After missing the front end of a two shot free throw, Wilson sank the second one for the home court victory.

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