McKeesport, PA - The Johnson & Wales Charlotte men's basketball team wrapped up the pre semester break portion of their schedule on Saturday afternoon, defeating Penn State-Greater Allegheny 95-73.

The Wildcats built a 14-7 lead in the game's first six minutes behind 6 points from Jaylen Benson-Hollinhead. The Nittany Lions responded with a 14-6 spurt of their own, to claim a 21-20 lead with just under ten minutes to play in the half. JWU's reply was immediate, reeling twelve consecutive points over the next five minutes that put them back in control. Their dominance on the glass was a key factor in this success. The Wildcats outrebounded Greater Allegheny 29-13 in the first half, and 47-33 for the game.

Greater Allegheny proved to be up for the challenge for much of the second half. After falling behind as many as thirteen early in the second stanza, the Nittany Lions trimmed the Wildcat advantage to as few as two points, and were only down four, 71-67 with six and a half minutes left. JWU found another gear at this point, however, closing the game on a decisive 24-6 run that saw them make 9 of their final 14 field goal attempts. 

Benson-Hollinhead was a force for which Greater Allegheny had little answer for, as he scored 21 points and pulled down 16 rebounds. Four other Wildcats joined him in scoring in double figures, including Nathan Meshida, who had 16 points, and Cameron Lawson who scored 14 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and handed out 5 assists. Jaben Mars and Jaden Scriven had 13 and 11 off the bench, respectively, and Ethan Smith just missed out on a double-double with 9 points and 11 rebounds.

JWU is off for the next two weeks for the semester break. They return to action on December 30th, when they travel to Clinton, SC to take on Presbyterian in an exhibition contest. The game is slated to tip at 2:00pm.