SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — Trailing by 12 points with 1 minute remaining in the game, it appeared certain that Penn State Schuylkill’s men’s basketball team would be saddled with its sixth straight loss.
Seconds later, that wasn’t a sure thing.
“I don’t know if we found something there, if we’re a press (defense) team,” Penn State Schuylkill head coach Travis Williams said. “I like that we got tough when the going got tough.”
Williams’ Lions took a 67-64 defeat to Penn State New Kensington in Sunday’s matinee at the Health and Wellness Building, but not until Penn State Schuylkill (1-11, 1-7 Penn State University Athletic Conference) had scored 11 points in the final minute to turn a rout into the Lions’ closest loss since their 63-59 defeat to Lehigh-Carbon Community College in the season opener.
“I drew something up, and there was a minute left. It looks like almost impossible odds, and we actually went beyond what I asked of them and scored 11 points in a minute,” Williams said. “A positive point is we can build off that.”
Penn State New Kensington (6-7, 4-4), which won a second straight game for the first time since early December, held a 63-51 lead with 1:09 remaining.
Penn State Schuylkill began its final push when Adam Okore took a pass from Beneiko Harris, scored and was fouled just as the clock reached the 1-minute mark. After the timeout in which Williams set up his team’s press, Okore missed the foul shot, but the Lions got a turnover and then scored on Bilal Butler’s first basket of the game, a jumper with 47 seconds remaining.
Penn State New Kensington, which beat host Penn State Brandywine on Saturday before making the trip north to Schuylkill Haven, answered with two foul shots by Lou Payne with 44 seconds remaining to make the score 66-55. Payne finished the game with 21 points to pace all scorers.
But the pressure by Penn State Schuylkill continued. After a drive and basket by Harris with 37 seconds remaining, a steal led to another bucket by Butler, cutting the gap to seven points.
PSU-New Kensington’s Jordan Williams then sank one foul shot with 22 seconds left, but Okore put back Harris’ missed shot and was fouled with 15 seconds remaining. Okore missed the free throw, keeping the score at 67-61.
Payne was whistled for traveling after getting the rebound, returning possession to PSU-Schuylkill with 11 seconds left, but the Lions were unable to score before Butler was fouled by Jordan Williams with 1 second remaining. Butler made one free throw and intentionally missed his second attempt. The ball glanced off the rim to Okore, who banked in a layup to set the final score just as the buzzer sounded.
Afterward, Travis Williams lamented Penn State Schuylkill’s inefficiency at the foul line. While Penn State New Kensington shot 15-for-23, the Lions went 7-for-18 while also shooting 34.2 percent from the field.
“It seems like there are so many things to manage and coaching points to have,” he said. “Sometimes, the free throws go by the wayside. If I told you we practice those free throws every practice, I don’t know if anybody would believe me.”
Penn State Schuylkill forward William Bracey, who shot 3-for-4 from the charity stripe, posted a season-best 20 points and nine rebounds. Harris had 16 points and Nate Yost added 11. Thomas Tinsley led the Lion rebounders with 11.
Penn State Schuylkill’s men’s and women’s basketball teams both will play Thursday at Harrisburg Community College in non-league games before closing the PSUAC schedule with just one home date, Jan. 27 against Penn State Brandywine, remaining on both teams’ schedules.
Williams said the road games may help his team.
“I think we might give a better run on the road,” he said. “Maybe we’re a little too distracted being so close to our fans and on campus. We don’t have those breakdowns on the road where we’re playing ‘hero ball.’ ... At home, we’re trying to do too much because we have parents, girlfriends, buddies in the stands, and everybody wants to coach the team.”
Game Summary
PENN STATE NEW KENSINGTON (67) — Hager 5 1-4 11, Payne 6 6-7 21, Broadwater 3 2-3 9, Williams 2 3-4 7, Chiang 0 2-2 2, Salerno 0 0-0 0, Muhammad 4 0-1 8, Jones 4 1-2 9. Totals 24 15-23 67.
PENN STATE SCHUYLKILL (64) — Tinsley 2 2-8 6, Yost 5 1-1 11, Bracey 8 3-4 20, Butler 2 1-3 5, Harris 7 0-0 16, Bubeck 0 0-0 0, Greene 0 0-0 0, Colteste 0 0-0 0, Epifanio 0 0-0 0, Okore 3 0-2 6. Totals 27 7-18 64.
NK (6-7, 4-4) 31 36 — 67 Sch (1-11, 1-7) 22 42 — 64
3-point FGs: Payne 3, Broadwater, Bracey, Harris 2