Beaver Falls to St. Joe's in the Quarterfinals

By: Alexis Shelton

Uniontown, PA- The Men's Basketball Team of Penn State Beaver (21-6, 16-2 PSUAC) played in the Quarterfinal round of the USCAA National Tournament this afternoon against the College of St. Joseph's (Rutland, VT).

Two free throws from Nick Miller (Beaver Falls/Beaver Falls, PA) started a 5-0 run for Beaver to open up the game. St. Joe's quickly responded, as they tied the game at ten with 15:55 left in the half. Tony Houghton (Perry/Pittsburgh, PA) made a quick layup, and started a 10-0 for the Lions as they took a 22-12 lead (9:10). The first half stayed in Beaver's hands, but St. Joe's started to fight back and brought the game within two (33-31) with 3:27 remaining. After tying the game at 34 thanks to free throws from Markes Royster (Penn Hills/Pittsburgh, PA), Beaver trailed at halftime 38-40.

St. Joe's defense took over in the second half, and Beaver began to fall behind quickly. After bringing the game within nine (61-70) with 4:19 left in the game, St. Joe's closed the game on a 16-5 run to end the game. Beaver went on to lose for the afternoon 86-66.

Miller and Chris Weathers (New Brighton/New Brighton, PA) lead the team with 17 points each. Beaver shot 31.8% from the field, 20% from three-point range, and 59.4% from the free-throw line. 

Beaver will play in a consolation game tomorrow, March 9, 2012 against Eastern Maine Community College (Bangor, ME) at 11 a.m.