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By Matt Michelone
For the Mirror
CRESSON -- Penn State Altoona has done a terrific job on the men's hardwood this season, playing the run-and-gun style of offense -- averaging 85.6 points per game.
The that has come in handy the last couple of games because both have resembled NBA contests.
Wednesday night, the Lions outshot Mount Aloysius and ran away with their seventh straight win, 116-93, triumph in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference action at the Mount Aloysius College Athletic Convocation & Wellness Center.
The Lions grabbed a 129-90 victory against Hilbert College last Saturday.
"We're lucky we can score a lot because we haven't been playing very good defense lately," Penn State Altoona coach David McGreal said. "That's our style, it always has been. We play fast, we run the old Loyola Marymount break and we got some really quick guards, and we got guys who can shoot it.
"When we need to be a half-court team, we got really good post players with PJ (Charles) and Dwayne (Jones). We like to run."
Jones showed off how much the Lions love to run as he drew a three-point play just over a minute in, and later added a slam dunk as he went on to record 15 points.
The Mounties chipped into the early lead a bit as Rafael Ibanez Medina came up with a plus-1 with just under nine minutes to play.
"It was the cat-and-mouse game that we talked about before the game," Mounties coach Marcus Thomas said. "We know what they want to do. They want to push the tempo, get out in transition, I think we're still learning to find a balance of when we can do that, and when we get out of control. I think that separated the game a little bit."
Justin Sheetz, meanwhile, got the separation back as he buried a pair of NBA-range 3s to give Penn State Altoona a 66-43 lead at the half.
The Lions shot 53 percent from the field -- shooting 38 percent from beyond the arc. The Mount was burned by the long ball as it converted just 25 percent.
"Sometimes it's just in (their) nature. We got up 20-something early, and we just kind of take a breath," McGreal said. "If the game is tighter, I would hope that we tighten up that defense. We've held some teams to 60, and 27 points in a half."
Saivon Word led the Lions with 23 points, going 8-for-11 from the field. He was one of six Lions in double figures. Charles was 7-for-13 for 15 points.
Trent Ramirez-Keller led the Mounties with 26 points and Ebone Junior recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
"You always feel like you can go make a play," Thomas said. "With our inexperience and our youth, a little bit of it led to rushed shots, and some turnovers that cost us in spurts. That's the best we've played in weeks (offensively). It's unfortunate that was the final score. It didn't feel like that."
PENN STATE ALTOONA (12-7): Harman 3-11 4-6 10, Word 8-11 6-6 23, Jones 7-8 1-1 15, Hicks 1-6 1-4 3, Charles 7-13 0-0 15, Gardner 2-5 0-1 4, Bush 2-5 2-2 8, White 6-10 3-3 17, McClellan 4-7 0-0 10, Sheetz 2-2 2-2 6, Jarosz 0-0 2-2 2, Hedges 0-0 1-2 1, Villegas 0-1 0-0 0, Smith 1-1 0-0 2, Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0, Colon-Lopez 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 43-81 19-23 116.
MOUNT ALOYSIUS (4-16): Hagwood 6-16 1-6 13, Boland 1-5 0-0 2, Ramirez-Keller 9-19 5-6 26, R. Ibanez Medina 2-5 2-4 6, Junior 7-13 1-3 15, Morrow 4-8 1-2 10, Warren 0-2 1-2 1, Lonigro 7-13 4-4 18, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, P. Ibanez Medina 1-2 0-1 2. Totals: 37-83 12-18 93.
Halftime - Penn State Altoona 66-43. 3-point goals - Penn State Altoona 11-29 (Jones 0-1, Charles 1-1, Harman 0-3, Word 1-4, Hicks 1-4, Bush 2-4, McClellan 2-4, White 2-5, Sheetz 2-2, Colon-Lopez 0-1); Mount Aloysius 7-28 (Hagwood 1-6, Boland 0-1, Ramirez-Keller 3-9, R. Ibanez Medina 2-4, Lonigro 0-4, Morrow 1-3, P. Ibanez Medina). Assists - Penn State Altoona 30 (Word , McClellan 6); Mount Aloysius 21 (Hagwood 7). Rebounds - Penn State Altoona 40 (Charles, Harman 8); Mount Aloysius 47 (Junior 11). Total Fouls - Penn State Altoona 15, Mount Aloysius 21. Technical Fouls - McGreal, Sheetz; Thomas.