ALTOONA, Pa. - Men's basketball cruised past Penn St. Altoona Wednesday evening on the road, 83-63, to improve to 11-1 in AMCC action. LRU managed to put together a run in each half to gain the advantage over the Lions. The Redhawks are 10-1 in their last eleven games and have won nine of their last ten matchups with Penn St. Altoona. La Roche led for the entirety of Wednesday night's contest.
Six different Redhawks finished in double-digit scoring figures led by Darius Lawrence who finished with 16 points, five assists and five steals (season-high) while shooting 60% (6-10) from the floor. Lawrence has led La Roche in scoring four of their last six games.
Tyler Frederick scored 10 of his 15 total points in the second half and added eight rebounds, a steal and a block.
Kennedy Smith was all over the stat sheet, finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a season-high five steals.
Desmond Ross and Joe Pipilo combined for 21 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Final: La Roche: 83, Penn St. Altoona: 63
Records: La Roche (11-6, AMCC: 11-1), Penn St. Altoona (10-5, 6-5)
How it Happened
La Roche jumped out to an early 6-1 lead five minutes into the contest, Altoona missing their first five shots from the field. Over the next five minutes, Altoona would manage to make it a one-possession game, trailing 10-8 halfway through the first.
The Redhawks would build on their lead over the remainder of the first, closing the half on a 27-15 run to head into halftime up 37-23. Joe Pipilo shot 3 of 6 (50%) from three point range in the first and led all scorers with nine points.
The AMCC opponents exchanged buckets to start the second half before La Roche put together a 12-4 run, capped off by a Kennedy Smith layup, to go up 56-36 with 12:06 remaining. Over the next two and a half minutes, LRU maintained their 20-point lead until Altoona cut into it with a 5-0 run of their own.
Then, La Roche erupted for a 15-3 run marshalled by Tyler Frederick, who scored eight points in a little over a minute. The Redhawks maintained their 20+ point advantage the remainder of the contest and would go on to win, 83-63.
Inside the Box Score
The Redhawks improved their shooting tremendously at halftime. In the first, LRU shot 40% (14-25) from the floor. In the second, the Redhawks shot an impressive 59% (16-27) from the field.
Desmond Ross has been on a roll in La Roche's last two games, putting up a combined 25 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 50% (6-12) from beyond the arc.
The black and red recorded a season-high 13 steals as a unit.
Entering tonight's game, the Lions had held their last three opponents to an average of 61.3 points.
LRU scored nearly a fourth of their points (20) on the fastbreak.
La Roche won the battle of the boards, out-rebounding Penn St. Altoona 43-37.
Just three Lions finished with 10+ points led by Jack Kusters who put up 15.
NEXT UP: Men's basketball returns home to host Medaille College this Saturday, January 25th at the Kerr. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.