Mirror photo by Sienna Fell. Penn State Altoona's Jalen Martinez (15) shoots a three-point shot over Hilbert's Larry Morse (24) in the first round of the AMCC Championship Tournament Tuesday, Feb. 25 at Adler Arena.

After a regular-season split, the Penn State Altoona men’s basketball team looked to break the tie in Tuesday night’s first-round matchup of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championship Tournament against the Hilbert College Hawks.

Led by a 36-point night from sophomore Nehemiah Frye, the Lions came out on top with a 95-88 victory at Adler Arena.

Frye went 6-of-8 from beyond the arc in helping his team get to the next round.

“My shot was just going,” Frye said. “Everything felt great, and the ball went in the hoop.”

In the first half, Frye contributed 20 of Penn State Altoona’s 51 points, which helped the team go into halftime up 51-46.

“He has shot the 3 well all year,” Penn State Altoona coach David McGreal said. “Thank God he was able to not only score on the perimeter, but also finish around the rim. He’s been a big part of our success this year.”

Portage product Kaden Claar finished the night with 21 points while shooting 50 percent from the floor as the Lions improved to 17-9.

“His 3-point shot wasn’t there,” McGreal said. “Kaden used his strength, got to the rim, and got to the foul line, and that’s why he was able to get his point total up.”

Some of the Portage faithful made their way down the mountain to support Claar and his teammate, fellow Portage alum Mason Kargo.

“The Portage pride carries on,” Claar said. “I’m glad they got to come out. We go back and support them when we can, so I’m glad it goes both ways.”

Greater Johnstown graduate Dwayne Jones finished with 18 points for the Lions in the victory. Teammate Kal-El Gentles chippedin with 10 points.

“It was a great team win,” said Jones, whose club outscored Hilbert, 44-42, in the second half. “We stayed poised and composed, and at the end we got stops when we needed stops.”

Hilbert’s season-long struggles against bigger teams caught up to them again in Tuesday’s loss.

“We seem to struggle with teams that have a lot of length,” Hilbert coach Rob deGrandpre said, as his club finished the season at 14-12. “We had a couple of miscues at the end that cost us.”

Penn State Altoona travels to Bradford to face Pitt-Greensburg on Friday night at 8 in the semifinals. The title game is set for Saturday.

HILBERT (14-12): Lewis 2-3 0-0 6, Morse 7-11 0-0 17, Briggs 7-16 1-3 17, Ellis 1-10 2-2 4, Moore 5-8 3-4 17, Johnson 2-2 0-0 8, Boies 3-9 5-5 13, Hartley 1-6 0-2, 3, Poumpey 1-4 1-3 3.

PENN STATE ALTOONA (17-9): Frye 14-20 2-2 36, Jones 8-11 2-4 18, Kargo 0-1 0-0 0, Claar 7-14 6-7 21, El-Gentles 3-11 4-4 10, Charles 2-3 0-0 4, Baskerville 0-0 0-0 0, Martinez 3-4 0-1 6, Johannson 0-1 0-0 0, Cage 0-0 0-0 0.

Halftime – Penn State Altoona 51-46. 3-point goals – Hilbert 11-29 (Lewis 2-2, Briggs 2-4, Ellis 0-5, Moore 4-7, Johnson 0-0, Boies 2-6, Hartley 0-2, Poumpey 1-3 ); Penn State Altoona 7-17 (Frye 6-8, Jones 0-1, M. Kargo 0-1, Claar 6-7, El Gentles 0-2, Charles 0-0, Baskerville 0-0, Martinez 0-1, Johansson 0-0, Cage 0-0 ). Assists – Hilbert 15 (Ellis 5); Penn State Altoona 20 (Jones, Kargo, Charles 4). Rebounds – Hilbert 35 (Johnson 7, Ellis 7); Penn State Altoona 39 (El-Gentles, Frye 8). Total Fouls – Hilbert 19, Penn State Altoona 17. Technical Fouls – None