WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Penn College's second half surge fell just short in a 101-94 setback against Penn State Altoona in a nonconference men's basketball game Wednesday. The Wildcats fell to 0-5, while the Nittany Lions improved to 2-3.

How it happened: Trailing 44-31 at the break, and 80-60 with 8:07 left in the game, Penn College used a 17-4 run – led by eight points from Peyton Murphy to make it 84-77 with 4:51 on the clock. A pair of Jay Henry freebies closed the gap to five, 89-84, with 2:24 left and the Wildcats got as closes three, 91-88, seconds later on Ethan Roman's long ball. Altoona iced the game with 12 free throws in the final 1:47.

Inside the box: Brian Rivera scored a team-high 20 points for Penn College and grabbed a game-best 14 rebounds. Roman finished with 17, Henry added 14, and Murphy contributed 10 points for PCT.

Up next: The Wildcats return to action Friday, 6 p.m., hosting Lebanon Valley.