MONACA, Pa. – Outscored in both halves, New Kensington was unable to overcome the deficit Beaver had created in Saturday's men's basketball contest, trailing 68-53.
New Kensington drops to 3-12 after falling in this conference matchup, while pushing back to 4-17 overall. Beaver evens out its conference record to 8-8 as well as its overall record of 11-11.
John Foster, who posted 10 points for Beaver in the first half, secured Beaver's lead against New Kensington with a three-pointer at 11:59, advancing the score to 15-10. Beaver went on to push a seven-point run, leaving New Kensington with a hole to fill. With a 16 point-deficit at hand, New Kensington began putting up numbers. Wilson Rojas (Pittsburgh, Pa./ Havelock) made a layup at 3:05, which left Beaver up only by seven, but heading into halftime, Beaver was still on top, 34-25.
Field goal attempts were similar from both teams, but Beaver got its advantage from landing 4 of 9 three-pointers, while New Kensington went 0 for 8.
The scoring was almost identical throughout the second half, with Beaver adding up another 34 points and New Kensington having 28. Jahi Ogbonna (Pittsburgh, Pa./ Allderdice) kept New Kensington alive within the last 10 minutes, posting seven points, including two free throws with three seconds remaining. Keon Butler was the forefront for Beaver, pacing with 12 points to capture the win.
New Kensington converted 9 of 33 field goals and went 10-14 from the line. Beaver landed 12 of 26 field goals, and was close behind New Kensington, sinking 9 free throws.
Ogbonna led New Kensington in scoring with 13 points and had five rebounds. Sammy Carey (Springdale, Pa./ Springdale) contributed 10 points and had the most rebounds, 9. With nine points, Hasaan Ismaeli (Pittsburgh, Pa./ Nazareth Prep) also had three steals. Tying with one assist was Jamison Nee (Natrona Heights, Pa./ Highlands), Rojas and Ogbonna.
Butler helped in Beaver's victory by contributing a game high of 21 points, while also adding three assists and three steals. Foster was right there with 19 points, had eight rebounds, and led with four assists. Also hitting double digits, Jeremy Redwine landed 12 points and took 11 rebounds.
New Kensington will return to action on Feb. 11 as it travels to Penn State Mont Alto for a contest at 8 p.m. Beaver will take the court in a week at Penn State Greater Allegheny for tip off at 3 p.m.
Written by Janet Surma
