First half advantage paves way for New Ken victory

NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. – Hasaan Ismaeli (Pittsburgh, Pa./ Nazareth Prep) dominated the first half of Wednesday's men's basketball contest against Penn State Fayette, putting up 18 points to contribute to New Kensington's 10-point lead at the end of the half. With such an advantage, New Kensington stayed in command of the game and sent Fayette home with a 76-61 loss.

This victory improves New Kensington to 3-11 in conference play, while pushing it to 4-16 overall. For Fayette, it drops to 6-8 in the PSUAC and 8-12 overall.

After starting the half ahead of Fayette, New Kensington soon fell behind and Fayette broke away with a small lead up to a five-point difference (15-10). Sammy Carey (Springdale, Pa./ Springdale) sunk a three-point jump shot and put New Kensington back on top for the first time since the first few minutes of play. After Carrey made the score 21-20 at 8:18, Ismaeli went on to land 12 points for New Kensington to push it well above Fayette's numbers, ending the half up 38-28.

New Kensington only connected on two more field goals than the opponent, but its three-pointers (7-17) set them apart from Fayette's 3 of 4 attempts. Contributing to Ismaeli's 18 points, three accounted for shots from behind the arc.

New Kensington continued to control the game over Fayette, outscoring it 38-33 in the second half. At midpoint, New Kensington improved to a 12-point lead, keeping its advantage far from Fayette's reach. Carey was able to put in three free throws within the remaining minute of the half, securing New Kensington's win with room to spare.

During the second half, Fayette attempted 14 of 35 field goals, while New Kensington trailed with 12 of 34. New Kensington managed to land more points by converting 12 of 22 from the line, while Fayette only had two attempts.

Ismaeli ended the contest with 20 points to lead New Kensington, four assists, and 12 steals. Jamison Nee (Natrona Heights, Pa./ Highlands) posted 15 points, and Brian Davidson (Pittsburgh, Pa. North Catholic) landed himself 12. Carey led with eight rebounds, and Jahi Ogbonna (Pittsburgh, Pa./ Allderdice) added five assists.

Iman Young paced with 18 points for the visitors, while totaling a leading number of 18 rebounds. Tavian Mozie trailed with 13 points and had two steals. Adding up the most assists, Joshua Hankins finished with six.

New Kensington will head to Penn State Beaver on Saturday to play at 1 p.m., while Fayette hosts Penn State Mont Alto at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Written by Janet Surma