Second Half Surge Sparks Roaring Lions

December 4, 2011

UNIONTOWN, Pa. - Juniors David Winns (Washington, DC) and Ryan Hart (Pittsburgh, Pa.) each recorded double-doubles as Penn State Fayette's men's basketball team upended Penn State York, 101-85 in a Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference game on Sunday in the Penn State Fayette Community Center.

Winns scored a team-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Hart added 13 points and a game-high 11 boards. Fayette (2-5, 1-0 PSUAC) benefited from a balanced scoring attack, as freshman Brandon Cunningham (Rancho Cucamonga, Ca.) scored 21 points and junior James Pratt (Uniontown, Pa.) added 18 points and five assists. Junior Will Gaines (Capitol Heights, Md.) and sophomore Tyler VanOlst (California, Pa.) each added nine points for the Roaring Lions.

York held a large advantage in bench scoring, notching 37 points to Fayette's 17, but 19 Lions turnovers turned into 31 Fayette points. The Roaring Lions committed 16 turnovers of their own, but were able to limit the damage, holding York to only 14 points off of those takeaways.

A frantic pace in the first half led to 109 points between the teams, as York held a narrow 55-54 lead at the break. The Lions shot 9-for-14 from behind the arc, and 56 percent overall from the field. But Fayette was able to keep pace, shooting a season-high 58 percent (22-for-38) in the first half, including five three-point field goals of their own. York cooled off in the second half as Fayette took the lead at 60-59 and would not trail again. A late surge with seven minutes to play saw the Roaring Lions extend their lead from four to 21 in less than four minutes, leading 99-78 with just over three minutes to play.

Fayette shot 37-for-67 overall, a season-high 55 percent, and made a season-high 11 three-point field goals.

The Roaring Lions return to action on Thursday, Dec. 8 as they travel to conference opponent Penn State New Kensington for a 7:00 p.m. start.