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Altoona, PA - The Mount Aloysius men's basketball team opened up their season over the weekend at the Coaches v. Cancer Classic hosted by Penn State Altoona. The Mounties fell to Juniata College on Friday evening by a final of 93-62 before dropping a close 69-65 game to host Penn State Altoona on Saturday afternoon.

Against Juniata, Ramel Stephens led the Mounties with 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field, and Josiah Jones also finished in double figures with 10 points. The Mounties led 17-15 with 10:58 to play in the opening half after a jumper from Azim Hutson, and trailed by two points at 21-19 with 8:47 to go before Juniata embarked on a decisive 21-2 run to build a 42-21 advantage, and the Eagles led 47-26 heading into halftime. Juniata held a comfortable advantage throughout the second half on their way to the victory.

On Saturday against the host Lions, the Mounties trailed 31-24 with just over three minutes remaining in the opening half before closing the half on a 8-2 run to cut the deficit to 33-32 at the break. The two sides traded the lead throughout the second half, and the game was tied 55-55 with nine minutes left after a Troy Williams layup. The game remained close heading into the final minutes. Down 65-62, Stephens hit a huge three-point shot with 14 seconds left to tie the ballgame. The Lions responded with a layup with four seconds left, and the Mounties had a chance to win or tie but turned the ball over. Altoona hit two free throws to seal the win.

Stephens once again led the Mounties with 28 points against Altoona and was named to the All-Tournament Team for his efforts. Trent McErlane added 15 points, and Tommy Pisula grabbed eight rebounds for Mount Aloysius.

The Mounties return to action on November 29th with a non-conference matchup at Shenandoah University at 7 p.m.