Mont Alto, PA – The University of Valley Forge Men's Basketball team played in a closely contested contest against the Lions of Penn State Mont Alto on Tuesday evening.  The Patriots fell by a final score of 74-73.
 
The Patriots (1-10) were led by Senior Guard Alex Sanchez who had a season high 32 points and Junior Sean Word who added a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds.
 
The Lions (9-8) had 4 players score in double digits.  Jalen Smith led the Lions with 30 points.  Ryan Hege had 12 points and 7 rebounds.  Jihad Warner added 10 points and 6 rebounds and Marcus Roper had 10 points and 6 rebounds. 
 
The First half saw 4 lead changes and the scored tied on 3 different occasions.  After back to back Patriot buckets by Quinyon Mays and Todd James, the Lions used a 9-2 run to open up a 10 point lead 40-30.  UVF fought back and closed out the first half with an 8-2 run that was capped off by a 3 from Alex Sanchez as time expired.  The Patriots were down by 4 with a score of 42-38 at the end of the first half. 
 
The Patriots got out to a fast start as the second period began.  Alex Sanchez nailed a 3 that sparked a 10-2 run.  The Patriots took the lead early in the half 45-42.  Back and forth play continued and with the scored tied at 71 with just under 4 minutes to play, Sean Word gathered a rebound and put the ball back up and in to give UVF a 73-71 lead with 3 minutes to play.  Unfortunately, Valley Forge would go ice cold for the remainder of the game and would be unable to score.  The Lions only needed a layup and a free throw to seal the game.  UVF fell by a final score of 74-73.
 
Up Next
The Patriots will be back on the court on Thursday, January 25^th when they travel to Schuylkill Haven, PA for a game against Penn State Schuylkill.  Game time is set for 7:00 PM.