NEW YORK, N.Y.- The Hunter College men's basketball team dropped a 74-54 decision to visiting Penn State Berks on Saturday afternoon in the Hunter Sportsplex. Despite a stronger second-half showing, the Hawks couldn't overcome a 20-point halftime deficit as they fell to 0-6 on the season.

The Nittany Lions (1-6) opened the game on a 15-6 run and never looked back, fueled by a 53.6 percent shooting clip and six made threes in the first half. Hunter struggled to find rhythm early, scoring just 18 points in the opening period.

Hunter showed more fire after the break, outscoring their first-half total with 36 points in the final 20 minutes. Demetrios Kontos led the Hawks with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including two three-pointers. Kristian Nunez added eight points and five steals, while Sloan Ireland contributed four points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.

Jeremiah Otasowie finished with nine points and a pair of assists, and David Kruszewski added five points off the bench. Hunter's reserves accounted for 19 of the team's 54 points.

For Penn State Berks, Marquis Ferreira paced the offense with 18 points, including four triples, while Isaiah Cotten notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

The Hawks return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 25, hosting Old Westbuy in the Sportsplx at 6:00 p.m.