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Altoona's Josh Lowery has been dealing with a preseason hip injury that has kept him out of the varsity lineup until Tuesday night.
The 6-foot-2 sophomore forward made the most of his opportunity.
And it just happened to coincide with the Mountain Lions' first victory of the season.
Lowery came off the bench and scored 18 of his game-high 21 points in the second half to help lift Altoona to its first victory of the season, a 58-44 win over Harrisburg in a Mid-Penn Commonwealth Conference matchup at the Alt-oona Fieldhouse.
"I came into the game a little nervous," Lowery said. "It was my first game back so I felt like I had something to prove."
Lowery proved to be a big part of getting the Mountain Lions win No. 1.
He scored eight points in a pivotal third quarter, then added 10 points, including six free throws, to help close out the game in the fourth quarter.
"Since we lost 12 games straight we just had to lock in for the fourth quarter and take it home," said Lowery, who also contributed five rebounds.
Altoona coach Doug Pfeffer was definitely happy to see Lowery back in the lineup.
"He's been injured all year and he showed up big time for us," Pfeffer said. "I can't say enough about how he played. He was active on the boards, blocked some shots, and ended up with 21 points. Him playing was a huge plus for us."
The Mountain Lions got the monkey off their backs and put their first slash in the win column, improving to 1-12 overall and 1-7 in the conference. The win also avenged a 30-point loss at Harrisburg, 73-43, back on Dec. 22.
"To see smiles on the players' faces in the locker room after the game is something we haven't seen yet this season," Pfeffer said. "They earned it. I am so happy for the kids. They could've packed it in at halftime when we were down 12 (31-19). It shows the character that they have and we hope to build on that the rest of the year."
Harrisburg fell to 4-10 overall and 1-8 in the conference.
"I just think we handled them pretty well when they came down to Harrisburg but we didn't really lock in mentally or physically to get the victory tonight," Harrisburg coach Demone Maxwell said. "Lowery just outworked us. He wanted it more than we wanted it. He got loose balls, he got second-chance rebounds, he got and-ones, he made his free throws. He ended up probably having a career night tonight.
Altoona senior Josh Corso, who picked up his second foul late in the first quarter and had to sit on the bench the majority of the first half, contributed eight points and nine rebounds.
"Josh doesn't get the ball a whole lot in our offense but he finds ways to get it … rebounding, he'll block some shots, get some loose balls," Pfeffer said. "He and the other seniors have really stuck together and kept the team intact during this losing streak."
The Mountain Lions also got solid contributions from a few other seniors, Cohen Crawford and Isaac Walker. Crawford scored seven points and Walked added five, including three free throws after he was fouled attempting a 3-pointer late in the game-turning third quarter.
Altoona didn't get the start it had hoped. Harrisburg scored the final five points of the opening quarter, capped by a Shawn Lee 3-pointer, to take a 16-9 lead.
The Cougars continued to roll in the second quarter. Buoyed by an 11-1 run midway through the quarter, Harrisburg turned a tight 16-14 lead into a more comfortable 27-15 cushion with 3:11 left in the quarter. The Cougars would take a 31-19 advantage into halftime.
"We were active, we were alive, we were playing as a team, we were getting to the basket and getting layups," Maxwell said of his team's effort in the first half.
After Wesley Pena opened the third-quarter scoring when he turned a rebound into a basket, was fouled and made the free throw, Harrisburg built a 34-19 lead with 6:42 left. That's when Altoona turned the corner. The Mountain Lions went on a 19-3 run to end the quarter and take its first lead of the game, 38-37, on a Lowery layup with 16 seconds left in the quarter.
Altoona surrendered the lead at the 6:36 mark of the fourth quarter when a Lee putback gave Harrisburg a 39-38 edge. Sophomore Roan Greaser had a putback of his own at 6:14 to give the Mountain Lions their lead back, one they would give up the rest of the way.
Altoona outscored Harrisburg 39-13 in the second half, including a 20-7 advantage in the fourth quarter. The Mountain Lions converted 12-of-19 from the free throw line in the final quarter, getting a 6-of-6 performance from junior Neymier Shields and a 6-of-9 effort from Lowery.
Game notes: Altoona travels to Cumberland Valley on Frida. Harrisburg hosts State College tonight. … Lee led Harrisburg with 11 points while Julian Bair added 10. … Both teams were a little sloppy with the basketball in the second quarter, combining for 18 turnovers (Altoona had 10 and Harrisburg had eight).
HARRISBURG (44): Lee 5 0-1 11, Lewis 2 0-4 4, Bair 3 2-8 10, Coke 3 1-2 7, Pena 2 1-1 6, Walker 2 0-0 4, Jackson 0 0-2 0, Middleton 1 0-0 2, Strain 0 0-0 0, Bowman 0 0-0 0. Totals - 18 4-18 44.
ALTOONA (58): Greaser 2 1-4 6, Dunkle 0 0-0 0, Larocco 1 1-2 3, Crawford 3 0-0 7, Corso 4 0-3 8, Shields 0 6-6 6, Purvis 1 0-0 2, Walker 1 3-3 5, Oluwade 0 0-0 0, Lowery 6 8-13 21, Sankey 0 0-0 0. Totals - 18 19-31 58.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Harrisburg 16 15 6 7 - 44
Altoona 9 10 19 20 - 58
3-point goals - Harrisburg 4 (Bair 2, Lee, Pena); Altoona 3 (Greaser, Crawford, Lowery).
Records: Harrisburg (4-10, 1-8); Altoona (1-12, 1-7).
JV: team, Altoona, 55-22. High Scorers: Ethan Hicks, Markell Herr, A, 14 each; Smith, H, 8.
Officials: Dave Heim, Craig Andros, Brandon Hoover.