Deadlocked at 28-28 at halftime, Abington used a 21-7 run to open the second half with a 49-35 lead. Penn College fought back with a run of its own and tied the game at 51-51, with 9:41 remaining following a 16-2 run, led by seven points from Peyton Murphy, five by Ethan Roman, and four from Octavio Alexander.

The Lions answered with a 12-2 spurt and never trailed the remainder of the game.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 14-6 lead after Roman’s layup with 12 minutes left in the opening half and fought off a surge from the Lions to maintain an eight-point, 19-11 advantage, after a Landon Reeder freebie with 7:13 left before the break. Abington netted nine-straight to take a 20-19 lead with 4:35 on the clock until Alexander’s layup with 2:58 made it 26-22. Abington closed out the half with a 6-2 run to tie the game at halftime.

Roman finished with a team-high 14 points, Alexander added 12, and Murphy finished with 10. Jay Henry dished out a game-best eight assists, while Jennsyn Shuey grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Penn College's Brian Rivera (24) makes his way to the basket around a Penn State Abington defender during a college men's basketball game at Bardo Gym on Wednesday.

Penn College returns to action Friday, 6 p.m., at Elmira College.

PSU Abington 78, Penn College 67

PSU ABINGTON (1-8, 1-0 UE)

Jojo Kelly 8-13 4-5 23, Mike Byfield 6-11 2-3 15, Tyler Meinel 7-11 0-0 14, K’Mari Smith 3-7 5-8 11, Sean Murphy 2-4 4-6 8, Joshua Hunter 1-5 2-4 4, Tamir Powell 1-5 1-2 3, Tyler Fox 0-7 0-0 0, Jamze Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-63 18-28 78.

PENN COLLEGE (1-7, 0-1 UE)

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Penn College's Landon Reeder (32) makes his way to the basket around Penn State Abington's JoJo Kelly (5) during a college men's basketball game at Bardo Gym on Wednesday.

Alexander Octavio 5-12 1-2 12, Cydae Joseph-Davis 4-5 1-1 9, Jay Henry 3-8 0-1 6, Owen Newcomer 2-5 0-0 6, Brian Rivera 28 0-1 4, Ethan Roman 6-8 1-4 14, Peyton Murphy 3-10 3-4 10, Colby Bost 2-3 0-0 4, Landon Reeder 0-0 2-4 2, Jenssyn Shuey 0-2 0-0 0, Kendall Bratten 0-1 0-0 0, Josh Shepherd 0-1 0-0 0, Kris Hayes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-63 8-17 67.

Halftime: Tied 28-28. 3-point goals: PSU A 4-18 (Kelly 3-3, Byfield 1-2, Meinel 0-1, Smith 0-1, Murphy 0-1, Powell 0-3, Fox 0-3, Hunter 0-4), PCT 5-23 (Newcomer 2-5, Octavio 1-2, Roman 1-2, Murphy 1-5, Shepherd 0-1, Bratten 0-1, Bost 0-1, Henry 0-2, Shuey 0-2, Rivera 0-2). Fouled out: PSU A-none; PCT-none. Rebounds: PSU A 47 (Kelly 9), PCT 32 (Shuey 7). Assists: PSU A 12 (Smith 4), PCT 19 (Henry 8). Technical fouls: PSU A-Hunter; PCT-Octavio. Total fouls: PSU A 19, PCT 23.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Penn College's Ethan Roman (3) looks to pass around a Penn State Abington defender during a college men's basketball game at Bardo Gym on Wednesday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Penn College's Peyton Murphy (24) eyes the basket around a Penn State Abington defender during a college men's basketball game at Bardo Gym on Wednesday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Penn College's Jenssyn Shuey and Ethan Roman (3) battle for possession of a loose ball during a college men's basketball game against Penn State Abington at Bardo Gym on Wednesday.