On Saturday, Feb 17, the Penn State Wilkes-Barre men's basketball team played Penn State York at home at 8 p.m. Before the game, Wilkes-Barre lined up to celebrate senior night for five of its players.
The seniors were: #12 Jalen Willis (Baltimore, Maryland/Genesee C.C.), #14 Teequan Holley (Queens, New York/Sullivan C.C.), #15 Wilvens Fleurizard (Tamarac, Florida/PSU Schuylkill), #25 Allen Ozojie (Union, New Jersey/Brookdale C.C.), and #33 Chase Monroe (Schenectady, New York/SUNY Ulster C.C.). All five student-athletes were starters in the game.
Seniors will graduate with the following degrees:
- Jalen Willis in Communications
- Teequan Holley in Corporate Communications
- Wilvens Fleurizard in Business Management and Marketing
- Allen Ozojie in Corporate Communications
- Chase Monroe in Criminal Justice
We wish the Mountain Lions luck in all their future endeavors.
The last home game of the season also brought players from local youth basketball teams together for Penn State Wilkes-Barre's Youth Night.
In the first half Allen Ozojie won the tipoff for the Mountain Lions, starting the game off strong. Teequan Holley got the AND1, adding two more points to the board. Jalen Willis made a layup after making his way past York defenders and completed a three-point jump shot.
Wilvens Fleurizard stole the ball at halfcourt, making a run to the basket to finish with a layup. After, multiple players from both teams grabbed for the ball, diving to the floor, with the scramble ending with a jump ball won by York.
#13 junior Jedidiah Ashton (Brooklyn, New York/Monroe College) got two AND1s in a row and an extra point from a free throw. With four and a half minutes left in the half, the score was tied at 20-20.
A pass from Jalen Willis to Chase Monroe resulted in a layup. Willis then made a jump shot, keeping the score tied at 24-24 with two minutes left. After, Willis made a bounce pass to Jedidiah Ashton to add another layup to the score.
York was successful in gaining a few more points as the clock wound down. Jedidiah Ashton made two layups before the half ended, but the Mountain Lions were still three points behind when the buzzer sounded.
The score at the end of the first half was 31-28 York.
There was no doubt it would be a close game for the Mountain Lions, but Willis made two points for the team in a layup to kick off the second half. Willis was on fire, making another layup after getting through York defense, and then later making a steal at York's net to break away, jumping over a York player at Wilkes-Barre's net to make two more points.
Willis, making a steal, passed the ball to Fleurizard, who then completed his run with a layup at the net. #5 sophomore Quintin Williams (Medford, New York/Suffolk C.C.) made his first points in the game after sinking a deep three.
#2 junior Elijah Perez (Bronx, New York/Stevenson High School) made a three-pointer, which caused Wilkes-Barre fans to go wild. The game became tied at 64-64 after Ashton made one of his free throws. Near the end of the game the score was tied again at 67-67, before York scored 4 points, putting the opposing team in the lead.
The final score of the game was 71-67 York. Top points scorers of the game were Jedidiah Ashton with 19, Jalen Willis with 15, and Wilvens Fleurizard with 12.
Written by Kyler Burke
Photo Credits: Alyssa Ellsworth, Strategic Communications