AMCC MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME OF THE WEEK: PENN ST. ALTOONA @ MEDAILLE

AMCC Men's Basketball Game of the Week:
Penn State Altoona @ Medaille College
Saturday, January 27 at 1:00 p.m.

Penn State Altoona (11-6, 7-3 AMCC) men’s basketball travels to Buffalo, N.Y. for a big Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference showdown with Medaille College (11-7, 8-3 AMCC) this Saturday, January 27 at 1:00 p.m. Altoona and Medaille, each with 7-3 records, are looking to finish the season with strong second halves to rise in conference standings for prime seeding heading into the conference tournament.

The Lions boast the AMCC’s top scoring offense, averaging 83.3 points per game, while also leading the conference with a 46.9% field goal percentage. Penn State Altoona has three of the top five scorers in the AMCC entering Saturday’s game, as senior guard/forward Ishimeal Nance is first in the conference with 19.7 points per game, senior forward Dequan Jackson is third with 15.9 points per game, and senior guard Rich Bouknight ranks fifth with 14.2 points per game. Nance is also second in the AMCC in rebounds per game (7.5) and third in three-point percentage (43.1%), while sophomore center Cameron Gardner-Nicholson is first in the conference in field goal percentage (64.4%) while holding down third in rebounds per game (7.3). Defensively, Penn State Altoona forces an AMCC-high 18.4 turnovers per game while also leading the conference in steals per game (10.3) and blocks per game (5.9). Individually, Jackson leads the AMCC in steals per game (2.5), while Gardner-Nicholson is the conference’s leading shot blocker (2.8 blocks per game).

While Altoona has the top-scoring offense in the AMCC, Medaille is right behind them with the second-best scoring output in the conference, pouring in 79.8 points per game with a 44.5% field goal percentage. Offensively, the Mavs are led by senior forward Mike Hollenbeck who averages 14.1 points per game and guards Meghale Ford  and Kirk Hawkins who add 12.7 and 11.7 points per game, respectively. Hollenbeck also leads the team with 7.1 rebounds per game and senior guard Jonathan Smith chips in with 7.1 boards a game. Senior guard Jalen Smith joined the Mavs after the holiday break and is averaging a team-best 16.7 points per game over the past six games. On the defensive end, Medaille forces 15.2 turnovers per game and grabs 6.4 steals per game.