ALTOONA, Pa. – Hilbert College Men's Basketball split their AMCC series against Penn State Altoona this winter after they dropped a 91-86 road game to the Lions.
 
The Hawks were outscored 11-2 over a three and a half minute span stretching between the end of the first and start of the second half as they moved to 4-5 in AMCC play while the hosts improved to 7-2 and share an identical 11-7 overall record with Hilbert.

Senior point guard Shaheem Ellis became the 17^th Hilbert men's basketball player to record his 1,000-career point, a feat he achieved with 7:05 remaining in the game off a deep 3-pointer.

HIGHLIGHTS
 
Three Hawks reached double digit points, led by Quran Briggs' 21 after he connected on 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and made 6-of-8 at the foul line.

Larry Morse padded his points late in the game, finishing with 19 tallies (8-of-11 FG, and a perfect 3-of-3 FL) but was one rebound shy of a double double though he led all players on the court with five offensive rebounds.

Shaheem Ellis finished with 14 points after needing eight pregame to hit 1K.  He earned game-high honors with seven assists and added five rebounds, matching Austin Boies (8 points) on the glass for the Hawks.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Altoona started fast, building a 7-2 advantage just 90-seconds into the game.  The Hawks clawed their way back and twice evened the score before going on their own run.
• On three separate trips, the Hawks held an 11-point spread with their last at 4:08 (37-26) after Morse finished an Ellis fast-break feed in the paint.
• Altoona scored on six of their final seven possession before the break while Hilbert finished only three of six to head to the locker room with a 43-39 lead. The Hawks squandered a 4-point lead 90 seconds into the second half. 
• After the Lions knotted the game at 43-all, both teams traded hoops through to a 48-48 score at 15:53.
• Altoona's zone defense continued to create issues for the Hawks, but after a Larry Morse tip-in, and Briggs' fast break 3-pointer, the Hawks appeared to have new life.  Hilbert's half court trapping defense led to a Moore made-3-pointer slicing the margin to four at 8:29. Ellis hit two at the charity stripe before drilling his 1,000-point off a 3-pointer (7:05) which trimmed the margin to just three points (67-64).
• The Lions slowly pulled away as the Hawks struggled to finish on their offense end. 

GAME NOTES 

• Hilbert doubled Altoona on the offensive glass (21-11) and held a 17-12 advantage in 2^nd chance points, but the Lions, after connecting on 45.7% of their FG in the opening half, improved to 65.4% in the second half.
• The Hawks finished the game hitting 43.5% from the floor, made 9-of-24 3-pointers and hit 17-of-22 from the foul line.

UP NEXT
 
Hilbert returns to the Hafner Rec Center this week for a 5:00 pm AMCC tilt against Alfred State College (2-7 AMCC). The Hawks dismantled the Pioneers (94-45) in their first meeting December 4 but just two games ago, Alfred State earned a 108-95 win in January 2024.