Men's Hoops Rally Falls Short at Penn Highlands

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. -- The Anne Arundel Community College men's basketball team nearly erased a double-digit halftime deficit Friday night but came up just short in an 80-77 loss at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College.

The Riverhawks trailed 42-28 at the break before erupting for 49 points in the second half. Al-Ameen Sanni led the rally with a team-high 19 points and 15 rebounds, recording his first double-double as a Riverhawk. Jaylen Marbley added 17 points, four assists, and four steals. Ryan Stacy chipped in 15 points and three steals, and Zamar Jones finished with 11 points as four Riverhawks scored in double figures.

AACC climbed back from a 17-point deficit in the second half, getting to within two points on a Stacy layup with 3:49 on the clock. Penn Highlands used back-to-back three-pointers to spark a 10-0 run to lead by 12 with 1:11 left in regulation. A pull-up jumper from Marbley followed by a Johnny Hutton steal-turned two points via Stacy layup got AACC back to within single digits with 53 seconds on the clock.

The Riverhawks had four fouls to give in the final 48 seconds, and give they did, sending Penn Highlands into the bonus and to the line by the 40-second mark. Marbley hit a three with 14.4 ticks on the clock, followed by a layup from Stacy and a long trey from Jones, but AACC ran out of time to complete the comeback.

Anne Arundel shot 43.1% from the field and forced 19 turnovers, turning defense into offense down the stretch. Despite the late surge, Pennsylvania Highlands held on behind 31 points from Byron Lavender.

The Riverhawks wrap up their weekend road trip with a 2 p.m. Region 20 divisional game at Potomac State Saturday.