ALTOONA, Pa.  – The Hilbert College men's basketball team suffered a 108-81 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference loss at the undefeated Penn St.-Altoona Lions this afternoon in the Alder Complex.
 
The Hawks made it a two-possession game for the first 11-minutes of action until Altoona went on a 20-4 run, putting the game away by intermission.

THE BASICS              

• Final Score: Penn St.-Altoona 108  |  Hilbert  81
• Location: Alder Complex, Altoona, Pa.
• Records: I  Lions 11-2, 6-0  AMCC | Hawks 5-9, 1-4 AMCC 

HIGHLIGHTS
 

• Quran Briggs unleashed 22 points after hitting 8-of-21 field goal attempts and sinking 5-of-7 from the charity stripe.
• Eric Jackson tossed in 11 points (4-of-6 FG) and was credited with a team-best three steals while Jahmel Demery matched Jackson's offensive effort hitting 50-percent from the floor and led the Hawks with eight rebounds.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 

• The Hawks opened the game with purpose.  They suffered their first turnover after the tip yet reversed their fortune by going on a 4-0 run to take their first lead 4-2 with only 56 seconds clicked off the clock.
• Altoona knotted the game again before Hilbert extended their lead by seven points twice in the opening six minutes.
• The Hawks played through four empty trips and soon found themselves down for the first time (17-15) since the opening tip.
• Altoona went on an 11-0 run before Zach Miller's 3-pointer and Demery's old fashioned three-point play pulled Hilbert within three again at 11:21.
• The Lions slowly pulled away the last nine minutes of the first half, although Hilbert kept fighting.
• Shaheem Ellis went coast-to-coast after securing a defensive rebound and pulled Hilbert back to a 36-29 score.
• Missed shots, turnovers and Hilbert fouls gave the hosts more opportunities and their offensive efficiency paid off in a 90-second, 10-0 run when Altoona set a 49-29 lead with 5:25 left before the break.   
• Nevada Eldridge, and Demery combined for a 6-0 Hilbert run but the hosts found their footing and stretched the margin back to 22-points with 1:37 to go.
• The royal and white were tagged with 17 first-half turnovers which contributed to Altoona's 61-41 lead by intermission.
• Hilbert sliced into Altoona's lead and made it a 12-point game just four minutes into the second half.
• Elijah Powell, Jackson, Edward Perez, and Briggs combined for the Hawks run but that was as close as Hilbert would get the rest of the second period.
• Briggs tossed in 12 second-half points and Perez followed with eight, hitting 4-of-5, along with five rebounds in that run.

 
GAME NOTES

• The Hawks finished the first half hitting 55-percent from the floor but cooled to 35-percent the second period.  Hilbert posted 40 points each half, but gave up 61 to the Lions before the break which put them in a deep hole they were unable to dig out of by the final horn.
• The Lions finished the game with a 53.6-percent clip from the floor and added 29 points from the foul line to secure their fourth 100+ point game of the season.
• Altoona held advantages in points in the paint (58-48), fast break points (41-26) and points off turnovers (37-18) as well as 60-31 in bench points.

WHAT'S NEXT

Hilbert returns to the friendly confines of the Hafner Recreation Center next Wednesday when they host Pitt-Bradford at 7:30 pm January 12.