ALTOONA, Pa.  – Hilbert College ran into a Penn State Altoona team who was on fire this afternoon. 

The Hawks were clawed by the Lion’s men’s basketball team by the final score, 129-90 after falling behind 74-45 at the break.  Altoona did not miss from the floor and continued to pour in points during the full 40-minute game.

HIGHLIGHTS

Jahmel Demery went 5-for-5 in the first half and finished with 13 points and a team highs – three assists and eight rebounds. 

Quran Briggs led Hilbert with 21 points, hitting 10-17 from the floor while Edward Perez tossed in 14 points and pulled down five offensive rebounds (7 total).  Shaheem Ellis added 11 points and Eric Jackson went 5-for-7 at the foul line to chip in nine points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Altoona jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead after hitting three of their first four shots and forced a Hilbert timeout.  After falling behind by 11 (11-0) Hilbert sliced the margin to seven off an Edward Perez jumper, a Quran Briggs fast-break layup and two at the foul line by Eric Jackson.
• Altoona then went on an 11-point run from which the Hawks were unable to recover from.
• Shaheem Ellis knocked down a 3-pointer and cut the point spread to under 20, but the Lions continued to pour in points beyond the arc.
• Altoona did their damage deep, hitting 13-og-19 from downtown and built a 75-45 score at intermission.

GAME NOTES

• Hilbert bested the Lions in second chance points – 19-10 – but Altoona, who finished the game connecting at a fire-hot 63.3% from the floor, and 62.9% beyond the arc (22-35), didn’t have very many offensive rebound opportunities.
• Altoona outscored Hilbert 39-19 in fastbreak points and 34-19 in points off turnovers.
• Hilbert forced 17 Altoona turnovers while committing 19 themselves.
• The Hawks closed the game hitting 44.3% from the floor, 14.3% from the 3-point line and made 18-0f-28 shots at the foul line. 

UP NEXT

The Hawks (8-10, 5-3 AMCC) return to the Hafner for another AMCC battle against Penn State Behrend on Wednesday, February 1st at 7:00 pm.

Editor’s Note: This story was shared with The Scribe by the Hilbert Athletics Department.