New Kensington, PA- The Lions welcomed Penn State Beaver to the athletic center last night for a PSUAC West contest. Losers of two straight, this was a must win game for New Kensington to keep pace in the playoff race. 

The Lions jumped out to an early 10-4 lead within the first five minutes of play, but Beaver got things going, finishing the half on a 25-11 run to take a 29-21 lead at the break. 

New Kensington came out strong to start the second half, using a 19-6 run of their own to take a 40-35 lead with just over 11 minutes to play. The Lions wouldn't look back from there, outscoring Beaver 38-23 in the second half on their way to a 59-52 conference victory. New Kensington played one of their best halves of the year when they needed it most, shooting 46% from the field, while holding Beaver to just 25% over the final 20 minutes. 

The Lions dominated the boards throughout, outrebounding Beaver 50-29 and converting that into 16 chance points. New Kensington got it done on the defensive side as well, holding Beaver to just 30% from the field and 20% from the beyond the arc on the night. 

Offensively, New Kensington featured a balanced attack, led by freshman guard Ta'Rasi Means' (Plum, Pa) 13 points and 4 rebounds. Sohomore guard Aubrey Feaster II (Buffalo, NY) was the only other Lion in double digits with 10 points, while fellow sophomore guard Shyheim Flanagan (Breaux Bridge, La) chipped in 9 points and a team high 13 rebounds. Sophomore forward Benjamin Cunningham (Woodbridge, Va) added 9 points and 9 boards, while blocking 2 shots. 

The Lions will host two more home games to finish off the season, with the next contest this Saturday, February 18th when Penn State Shenango comes to the athletic center for another PSUAC West showdown. 

Stayed tuned at PSNKathletics.com.