Hazleton wins fourth straight, topping Lehigh Valley and Scranton

Hazleton, Pa. - The Lions completed a five-game home stand this week, winning four straight games in the PSUAC that concluded with wins over Penn State Lehigh Valley and Penn State Scranton. Hazleton scrapped their way to a 16 point victory over Lehigh Valley on Tuesday night with five players reaching double-figures in the scoring column and wrapped up business on their home court on Friday night with a convincing 97-73 victory over Scranton where the Lions matched their season high total of 13 triples. 

Tuesday, January 21: Penn State Lehigh Valley 62, Penn State Hazleton 78 - Final

Hazleton jumped out to an early lead on Tuesday night and stayed on the right side of the scoreboard for the entirety of the contest. Lehigh Valley didn't make it easy on the Hazleton squad however as this game saw multiple runs by the visitors. Lehigh battled back from a double digit deficit to make it a three-point contest late in the first half, until a lay-in by third year Andre Campbell stretched the lead back to five points at the break. Hazleton burst ahead as play resumed in the second half. The Lions a combined 14 points from Campbell and fourth year Dante Harward in the first six minutes of action as the Lions grabbed their biggest lead of the night at 21 points. Once again, Lehigh Valley got back in the game, striking for an 11-2 run midway through the period but the Lions responded with buckets from third year Jaziar Whitely and fourth year Joey Lombardo to keep the visitors from threatening the lead. Hazleton had opportunities to close the game out comfortably, but the Lions converted just 13 of 24 attempts from the free throw line. Despite the miscues at the charity stripe, Hazleton held Lehigh Valley to just 29 percent shooting from the field in the second half, securing the 16 point win with a fine defensive effort. 

Campbell and Whitely finished the night as the Lion's top scorer with 16 points each, with Campbell adding six boards, five assists, three steals and a pair of blocked shots. Other Nittany Lions in double-figures included Harward who totaled 14 points with six rebounds, fourth year Connor Rushing with 12 points and seven boards, while Joey Lombardo went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc to finish with 11 points in the win. 

Friday, January 24: Penn State Scranton 73, Penn State Hazleton 97 - Final

Friday night's contest saw a resurgence from the Hazleton offense. The Lions faced several scoring droughts throughout the night, but scored in bunches to finish the night just under 50 percent from the field. After leading early, Hazleton trailed Scranton 21-17 with seven minutes to play in the first half, but the Lions stormed ahead on an 11-0 run featuring triples from Rushing and Ponds. Hazleton would go on to score 30 points in the final seven minutes of action, holding Scranton to six points over that stretch to carry a 20 advantage into halftime. Scranton got to within 17 of Hazleton in the second half but that's as close as they would get as Hazleton poured in 50 points in the final period, leading by as many as 29 points late in the game. 

Hazleton dominated the game in the shooting categories, going 36-for-75 on the night and 13-31 from beyond the arc. No one was more impactful from long range than Rushing who notched a season-high 33 points on 8-for12 shooting from three-point range. Ponds finished the night 7-of-11 from the field for 20 points, adding nine rebounds and a game-high seven assists. Campbell filled the stat-sheet with 15 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals while Jaziar Whitely added 16 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes of work. 

The Lions will look to continue the hot streak next week when they hit the road for the first time in the spring semester. Hazleton will face off with Penn State Schuylkill at 8:00 p.m on Tuesday, January 28 before wrapping up the week at Penn State Wilkes-Barre on Friday, January 31 at 8:00 p.m.