Hazleton offense tails off in second half against Wilkes-Barre

Hazleton, Pa. - The Nittany Lions came up short in their Penn State University Athletic Conference opener on Tuesday, falling to Penn State Wilkes-Barre by the score or 63-58. Hazleton led for much of the contest and their defensive effort kept the Wilkes-Barre squad off-balance all night but a late run by the visitors and a 1-for-8 effort from the field by Hazleton in the final four minutes of action, spelled defeat for the Lions who fell to 3-3 on the season and 0-1 in conference play. 

Hazleton's defensive effort was tremendous in the first half of play. After spotting Wilkes-Barre a 6-0 advantage in the first two minutes of the game, Hazleton limited the visitors to just three points over the next 13 minutes of the half. During that stretch, the Lions forced six turnovers which sparked the offense to a 20-9 advantage. During the run, Hazleton got five points from third year Shamell Ponds and second year Axcel Kamanga added five points off the bench to help the Lions go up by double digits. Wilkes-Barre finally got back on track offensively, but third year Andre Campbell scored five of his 13 first-half points in the final minutes of the half to keep the Lions out in front 27-22 at the midway point.

The second half was a grind for both teams and saw seven lead changes throughout the period. Hazleton led by as many as six points in the period, following an old fashioned three point play by second year Muhammad Faye and Ponds scored a pair of buckets to keep that lead for Hazleton up until the 10 minute mark but offense was tough to come by in the latter part of the period for Hazleton. A 9-2 run by Wilkes-Barre put them back on top, but Campbell answered from beyond the arc with seven minutes remaining to give the lead back to Hazleton at 51-49 but Wilkes-Barre would limit the Lions to just seven points for the remainder of the game. Despite the drought, Hazleton kept within reach, getting a clutch triple from fourth year Dante Harward with under two minutes to play that brought the score to 57-56 in favor of Wilkes-Barre. Hazleton was unable to come up with the late defensive stops needed as Wilkes-Barre reeled of six points at or around the rim in the final 90 seconds of action, extending the lead to two possessions and closed out the ball game with a five point win. 

After holding Wilkes-Barre to 36 percent shooting in the first half, the visitors went 15-for-26 in final 20 minutes of play and connected on 3-of-4 attempts from beyond the arc to total 41 second half points. Hazleton won the turnover battle 17-11 to nearly knock off the defending USCAA Champions, but a 41-29 deficit on the glass and a 20 percent shooting effort from beyond the arc proved too much to overcome in the end for Hazleton. Andre Campbell and Shamell Ponds played well in defeat with the duo providing the bulk of the offense for the Lions. Campbell totaled 18 points with five assists, five steals and a pair of blocked shots while Ponds added 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting with three boards and a steal. Harward was efficient from the field, going 4-for-5 and 2-for-2 from beyond the arc to total 10 points and six rebounds in the loss while Axcel Kamanga provided a spark with seven points and a team high nine rebounds respectively. 

Hazleton will look to get back in the win column on Saturday when the Lions face their first road test in conference play. Hazleton will travel to Penn State New Kensington on Saturday, November 23 for a 4:00 p.m. contest to wrap up play before the holiday break.