WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Penn State Abington used a strong first half en route to a 78-64 win over Penn College in a North Eastern Athletic Conference men's basketball game Wednesday. The Wildcats fell to 5-14 overall, 3-7 NEAC, while the Nittany Lions improved to 8-11, 3-7.

Elijah Vazquez scored his 1,000^th career point, with more than half of the points by the Community College of Rhode Island transfer scored in a Penn College jersey.

How it Happened: Penn College built a 12-7 lead on Carson Garvis' layup with 16:17 left in the first before Abington used an 11-2 run to take an 18-14 advantage five minutes later. The Wildcats responded with a 9-3 spurt to lead 23-21 on another Garvis layup midway through the period. The Lions ended the half with an 18-7 run to lead 41-28 at halftime.

The Wildcats opened the second with 15-2 run to even the game at 43-43 after Ben Sosa's traditional three-point play with 14:47 left in the game. Abington shortly regained the lead and the Wildcats got as close as one, 51-50, on a Vazquez trey with 8:51 on the clock. The responded with a 19-4 run to pull away.

Inside the Box: Ben Sosa scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Wildcats. Vazquez finished with 12 points and Brody Baker added 11. Garvis pulled down a team-best eight rebounds.
Mohamed Mansaray scored a game-high 21 points for Abington.

Up Next: Penn College returns to action Saturday, 1 p.m., at Penn State Berks.