FROSTBURG, MD. — Frostburg State held off a late second-half rally to defeat Penn State Altoona, 73-65, in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference men’s basketball action Wednesday evening at Bobcat Arena.

Despite trailing at the half, FSU (6-7, 5-1) held a 20-point lead with 9:39 to play in regulation, but held on for the win as PSA (2-10, 1-5) cut it to four points, 69-65, with just 34 seconds left. The Bobcats used four free throws with under a minute to go to seal the victory.

FSU junior Keith Hazel (Weirton, W.Va./Weir) led all scorers with 17 points followed by senior Dale DeBerry (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) with 16 scores. Fellow senior Jade Belt (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall) pulled down a team-best eight rebounds.

Tyler Franklin was the lone Penn State Altoona player in double figures with 11 points followed by Mike Dancer and Lorenzo Carter each with nine.

For the game, the Bobcats outshot the Lions 26-of-54 (48.1%) to 21-of-58 (36.2%).

The teams battled through the early part of the first half until Penn State Altoona surged ahead for a 16-10 advantage at 10:59. FSU regained the lead at 4:13, 28-26, and held its final lead of the half at 2:07, 31-30.

PSA would score six of the final nine points of the period to take a 36-33 lead into halftime.

FSU came out on fire in the second, using a 24-6 outburst to open a 20-point cushion at 9:39. The Bobcats then watched as the Lions came roaring back with a 25-9 run to cut the deficit to 69-65.

Hazel and DeBerry each made a pair of foul shots with under 35 seconds to go in the game to earn the win.

FSU returns to the court on Saturday, January 13 when it travels to Hilbert for a contest at 4:00 pm.