MONT ALTO, Pa. - The Penn State New Kensington men's basketball team fell to Penn State Mont Alto on the road on Saturday afternoon in spite of an extremely tenacious competition.

Mont Alto came into Saturday's game with an incredible record of 17-3. Early this week, they experienced their first loss since November 20. New Kensington also carried out a winning streak during January and looked to acquire yet another after a promising victory on Tuesday.  

A slow start did not prevent New Kensington from playing a tough game Saturday as their defense continued its dominant and concentrated blocks. The New Kensington offense finally began to develop at 12:53 of the first half when Evan Clarke (Aston, Pa. / Garnet Valley) made a jump shot. This was followed by a series of layups and threes.

With under 10 minutes left in the half, a great offensive effort was devised to bring the game within one point, New Kensington trailing 18-17. Jaden Stonework (Clinton, Md. / Gwynn Park) and Jiaan Sehhat (Great Falls, Va. / Langley) took control of New Kensington's scoring, adding additional jump shots, layups, and threes. Jared Sidwell (Apollo, Pa. / Harvest Baptist Academy) contributed to the offensive run by making both of his free throws.

In the closing minutes of the half, Mont Alto came back to life putting up another seven points unanswered. New Kensington brought the game within reach again with a Benjamin Cunningham (Woodbridge, Va. / Christ Chapel Academy) layup. Despite the quick response, New Kensington was still trailing 29-19 at the half. The scoring for New Kensington was equal across the board as all three of the scoring leaders at the half collected four points, including Jaden Stonework, Benjamin Cunningham, and Shyheim Flanagan (St. Martinville, La. / Westside). The men also achieved 50 % of their free throws, 18 defensive rebounds, and five blocks.

Jared Sidwell and Jovan Kojic directed the scoring for New Kensington in the second half. The men kept the game within the 10 point margin and regulated an intense comeback in the final 10 minutes. The contest stayed close until the clock ran out, Mont Alto on top 68-55. New Kensington's scoring leaders consisted of Evan Clarke with 12 points, Jovan Kojic with 11, and Aubrey Feaster II (Buffalo, N.Y. / William B. Travis) with seven. The men also had a great defensive game with 30 defensive rebounds.

This past week looked a little different for the men's basketball team. After a strong succession of performances last weekend, the men traveled to Penn State Fayette earlier this week to take on another conference and divisional opponent.

The men's team rallied in the final minutes to ensure that Penn State Fayette would not return for a comeback victory and organized an impressive win to start the week off strong. The end of the week was met with class and activity cancellations as the weather once again interrupted extracurricular activities. Nevertheless, the team embraced these obstacles and prepared for Saturday afternoon's game.

In the meantime, it was only natural that the players examined their most recent game to establish a better plan and arrange a blueprint around their strengths. While the team did not have practice Wednesday night, a few members of the squad can always be found in the Athletic Center.

As for their analysis, it was very straightforward. "We did what we needed to do," said Evan Clarke on February 2. "Jovan really stepped up. Jovan had a great game. Aubrey as well." Doing what they needed to do has definitely become the mantra of the men's basketball team. While they play great games, not every win is going to be pretty, in fact, most are not.

"Something almost like self sabotages us," said Clarke. "But we've lost those games and it's actually happened. We don't really believe we can lose and then we've actually lost them and then we've experienced that multiple times to teams we should have beat by 20. Now we're not letting our foot off the gas in those situations."

Certainly one can understand that each team has its dynamic. And even after learning each other's nuances and growing the team chemistry, it is still a matter of playing for one another, both to flourish and to lose. In the course of the season, one can expect struggle, assurance, and dependability. Now is the time to let it all blend together.

"Very solid overall," said Clarke. We could have beat them by more but overall good performance. Something to build on for sure . . . I think we'll finish at 14 or 15 wins, have a winning record in the conference, and end strong."

The men enter the tail end of their season with an extremely dangerous offense and a defense that has become the glue of the team, especially in their recent wins. "We actually had a talk inside the team and we're just trying to compete and stay together," said Jovan Kojic on January 28.  'Because defense is not about knowledge, it's more about effort."

There is no doubt that one thing the men's basketball team does not lack is effort. With four games left this season, the men again look to make their winning streak a regular occurrence.

The men will play at home against Penn State Shenango on Thursday, February 10, at 8:00 p.m.

Written by Matt Heavner, PSNK Athletics Communications Intern