Beaver scores second PSUAC win in home opener against Scranton

By: Matylda Zamudio

MONACA, Pa.––The Penn State Beaver men's basketball team defeated Penn State Scranton 76-61 in the 2019-2020 season home opener Friday night, extending the team's winning streak to two games.

Two Lions finished with double-doubles and both led the team in scoring. Sophomore forward/center Jeremy Redwine (Merced) scored 20 points, 19 rebounds, two blocks, one assist and one steal, while senior guard John Foster (Austin/Del Valle) also finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and one block.

Junior guard Keon Butler (Annapolis/Star Severn School) followed right behind them with 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals.

1st half: The teams were neck-to-neck in the first few possessions of the game. But with the game at 6-5, advantage Scranton, Redwine came through with a block to put the ball in Junior guard Sonny Martinez (Austin)'s hands, who then found Redwine down the court for a layup, which started a 12-point run for the Lions (15-6). The Lions then took a double-digit lead at 9:06 after Butler got a defensive rebound and then hit a layup to bring the lead to 19-8. Beaver controlled the tempo of the game for the remainder of the half with Foster and Redwine combining for a total of 21 points to end the half with Beaver up 39-21 over Scranton.

2nd half: While Scranton cut the deficit to 11 points (41-30) at 17:31, the Lions answered back with 6 straight points to building it back to 17 at 47-30. As the game continued, the Lions then built their largest lead of 24 points at the 6:35 mark, after Butler found Foster for a 2-point shot to bring the score to 70-48. Butler dealt the final blow at 1:07 as he got a late steal and finished with a layup. Butler also led the second half in scoring with 13 points, as the Lions earned a 76-61 victory for the night.

Box Score Highlights: Beaver shot 40.5 percent from the field and 84.6 percent from the free-throw line. Beaver outshot Scranton 38 to 32 points in the paint, 8-2 on second-chance points, 14-10 on points off turnovers. The team also outrebounded Scranton 46-37 and picked up seven more assists for the evening.

After tonight's win, the Lions improve to a 3-1 record overall and sit at a 2-0 in the PSUAC standings.

The Lions will be back tomorrow, Nov. 22, for more PSUAC conference action against Penn State Wilkes-Barre. The game is slated for 3 p.m.