photo of Sam Roselli
PSUD Men Win into Playoff Race
Over the weekend the Penn State DuBois men's basketball team traveled across Pennsylvania to play at Penn State Lehigh Valley and Penn State Hazleton. PSUD came away with two big wins as both teams were ahead of PSUD in the PSUAC standings. PSUD moves into 8th place in the PSUAC standings and right in the middle of the playoff race.
On Saturday, PSUD fell behind early at PSU Lehigh Valley but did not panic. PSU Lehigh Valley's pressure got to PSUD early, after a timeout by coach Howard PSUD seemed to calm down and break the pressure for scores. PSUD PG Louie Conde (Ewing,NJ/Ewing) did a good job of handling the pressure and finding his teammates in the open court. PSUD had a lead at halftime and never looked back. They started the second half on a run pushing the lead to as many as 21. Good free throw shooting and handling the pressure helped PSUD secure the win 84-72.
On Sunday, PSUD kept the energy and positive momentum going as they took on PSU Hazleton. For most of the first half both teams traded baskets as the score remained close until late. PSUD turned up the defensive pressure closing the half on a small run to lead 43-35. PSUD pushed out the lead early in the second as they executed on offense with the first possession of the half. Sam Roselli (Ridgway,PA/Ridgway), Tristan Pierce (Lancaster,OH/Lancaster), and Louie Conde (Ewing,NJ/Ewing) all chipped in with key baskets that stretched the lead. PSUD used solid defense and patient offense to slowly build a lead of 20 for most of the second half.
PSUD big man Sam Roselli (Ridgway,PA/Ridgway) lead all scorers with 20, 10-14 from the field and also grabbed 8 rebounds. Louie Conde (Ewing,NJ/Ewing) had a solid overall game for PSUD, 17 points 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Dylan Clingan (Emporium,PA/Cameron County), Ellis Painter (Clarion, PA/Clarion), Tyler Woodard (Smethport,PA/Smethport) and Alandean Elsayed (New Columbia,PA/Milton Area) all proved to be important as they provided good minutes off of the bench.
Coach Dylan Howard "I've said this before, this weekend's wins were both great team wins. I thought both days we had great energy, each guy stepped up when their number was called. The entire roster works hard every day in practice, it's rewarding for them to start the semester 5-2 in the conference and 6-2 overall. We need to remain focused as we still have a tough stretch ahead."
PSUD returns to action Tuesday night at home against first place PSU Fayette (10-0 in conference play.) The tip is scheduled for 8 pm following the women's game.