SHARON, PA- In an up and down contest all night long, Penn State Shenango pulled ahead to a 9 point lead with 6:21 remaining in the contest but couldn't hold on and ultimately fell to the Warriors of Akron Wayne College, 81-78.

The Lions, now 3-8 on the season, dealt with a roster shakeup over the Holiday break, and now have a couple of new faces on the floor. BJ Williams, a sophomore from Warren JFK High School, stepped up in his first game of the season to knock down 14 points on 6 of 11 shooting from the floor to go along with 3 rebounds and 5 assists.

After being down by 12 at the half (45-33) the Lions fought back after the intermission led by a strong effort from junior Donovan Verges with 18 points on 8 of 10 shooting from the floor, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Brayden Martin, sophomore from Grove City, helped out with another strong showing by adding 15.

Although the Lions shot well from the floor, shooting at a 50 percent rate on 30 of 60, the Warriors (4-11) did likewise shooting an equal 36-73 on the night.

Akron Wayne was led by Perrion Johnson with 28 markers and CJ Waters with another 15.

Penn State Shenango now enters the toughest part of their conference season playing three consecutive ranked teams in the USCAA, Divison II national poll. Friday night the Lions hit the road to play number 8 ranked Penn State York followed by another road contest on Tuesday to take on number 5 ranked Penn State Mont Alto. It doesn't end there as the Lions return home on the 17th to take on number 1 ranked Penn State Wilkes-Barre and finally Penn State Scranton on the 18th for a Saturday afternoon contest.

As always, follow the Lions basketball action all season on the website home of Shenango athletics, www.shenangoathletics.com.