Tinch

CRESSON — Coming off a big victory against Alfred State last week, the Mount Aloysius men’s basketball team came into Wednesday night’s game against Penn State Altoona looking to continue that momentum.

The Mounties did just that in their Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference clash.

Led by a 24-point performance by junior guard Troy Tinch, they came away with a big 98-87 victory over the Nittany Lions at the Athletic Convocation & Wellness Center on the campus of Mount Aloysius.

In the midst of a trying season, Mount Aloysius weathered the storm on offense to get the victory.

“Specifically on offense, we did a good job of playing through the pain,” Mounties coach Marcus Thomas said. “That’s something we’ve emphasized the last few weeks, and we’ve done a much better job of getting more consistency on offense.”

In the first half, the Mounties turned the ball over eight times, but shot 10 of 17 from the floor, and trailed, 51-43, at the break.

“We’ve tried to just be more desperate,” Thomas said. “Just try to really be as scrappy as we can.”

After halftime, things started to swing the Mounties way as they finished the game shooting 80% from the charity stripe.

“It goes with the mental focus,” Thomas said. “I thought we were locked.”

Besides Tinch’s 24 points,on 9 of 13 shooting, and four of five from the free-throw line, the Mounties also got 23 points from Donovan Bass-Briscoe, 16 points from Senique Jenkins and 11 points from Jordon Nelson. As a team, the Mount hit on 20 of 25 from the foul line in the win.

“Free throws are very important,” Tinch said. “I wake up every day at six in the morning to work out and I practice specifically free throws.”

With the win, the Mounties improved to 4-18 on the season. Despite the tough times, the message remains consistent from their coach.

“We just have to carry the momentum,” Thomas said. “We have to continue to stack days.”

Penn State Altoona came out strong in the first half with scrappy defensive play, but couldn’t match the Mounties stellar shooting in the second half.

“Our defense is really good when our offense is going well,” Penn State Altoona coach David McGreal said. “In the first half when we were scoring, we were stopping them; as soon as we start struggling to score, the first thing that goes is our defense.”

Portage native Kaden Claar, led all Nittany Lion scorers with 25 points on 10 of 21 shooting night from the field. Teammate Braelen Cage added 17 points to go with 15 points from Tyrone grad Andrew Escala. Rasheed Daniels contributed 13 points.

The Mounties hit the road to face Hilbert on Friday night. Penn State Altoona travels to Penn State Behrend on Friday as well.

PENN STATE ALTOONA (11-11): Escala 6-13 0-0 15, Kargo 2-5 1-2 5, Daniels 3-10 7-9 13, Claar 10-21 2-3 25, Cage 6-12 1-1 17, Sterling 1-2 0-0 2, Bruce 3-6 1-2 8, McCormack 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 32-71 12-17 87.

MOUNT ALOYSIUS (4-18): Jenkins 7-10 2-2 16, Bass-Briscoe 7-12 8-9 23, Howard 3-5 0-0 7, Tinch 9-13 4-5 24, Nelson 3-5 3-3 11, Carr 2-3 3-6 8, Nascimento-Zschaeck 3-5 0-0 6, Waters 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 35-57 20-2

Halftime: 51-43 Penn State Altoona. 3-point goals – Penn State Altoona 11-38 (Escala 3-8, Kargo 0-3, Daniels 0-4, Klaar 3-10, Cage 4-9, Bruce 1-3 Mangan 0-1); Mount Aloysius 8-18 (Bass-Briscoe 8-9, Tinch 4-5, Nelson 2-4, Carr 1-1, Nascimento-Zschaeck 0-1, Waters 1-4). Assists – Penn State Altoona 15 (Kargo 1, Daniels 4, Clarr 2, Cage 3, Bruce 3, Mangan 1, Capers 1); Mount Aloysius 21 (Jenkins 1, Bass Briscoe 4, Howard 2, Tinch 1, Nelson 7, Carr 3, Nascimento-Zschaeck 2, Waters 1). Rebounds – Penn State Altoona 27 (Escala 2, Kargo 4, Daniels 4, Clarr 10, Cage 1, Bruce 2, Mangan 1, Johansson 1, McCormack 2 ); Mount Aloysius 34 (Jenkins 10, Bass Briscoe 4, Howard 1, Tinch 10, Nelson 4, Carr 2, Nascimento-Zschaeck 3). Total Fouls – Penn State Altoona 20, Mount Aloysius 16. Technical Fouls – None.