The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team earned a key win over AMCC opponent Mount Aloysius on Saturday, December 5 at the Junker Center. Behrend pulled away with a decisive 82 to 62 victory.
The first half was a fast paced up and down the floor contest with the lead changing hands early. Freshman Russ Conley (Transfer/Reynolds) made his presence felt early by converting on his first five shots and giving the blue and white a solid inside game. Conley finished the first half with a team high 13 points. A key point in the first half was off of a steal from Justin Kovac (Venetia/Peters Township) who then missed a jumper only to have it put back by Conley. This quick score forced Coach Lance Lloya of the Mounties to call a timeout and try to gather his troops. Kovac would shine once more as the he took an inbound with two seconds to go in the half and hoisted a three pointer in the air that found nothing but net. The score at the end of the first half saw Behrend leading, 40-36.
Mt. Aloysius tied the game at 40 to begin the second half but it would be all Behrend Lions from that point. At the 11:46 mark of the second half, senior Adam Potter (Pittsburgh/Mt.Lebanon) made a put back layup off of a Chris Saltzman miss (Pittsburgh/Pittsburgh Central Catholic) to put the blue and white up 53-46. Behrend took complete control at the 10:58 mark when Adam Kaiser (Erie/Cathedral Prep) converted on a four point play to sink any chance of a Mounties comeback. The Behrend Lions converted on multiple free throws at the end of the contest to seal the victory. Kovac finished the game with 17 points and six assists while Conley, Kaiser and Nick Thorsen (Bethel Park/Bethel Park) were all in double figures scoring. Mt. ALoysius was lead by Armond Perez who poured in 19 points and grabbed seven boards while Harold Clark chipped in with 15 points and four assists.
The blue and white improve their record to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the AMCC. With the loss, the Mounties drop their record to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
Up next for Coach Niland's Behrend Lions will be three straight road matchups. Behrend will be at Westminster on December 9 followed by a critical conference game against Frostburg State. The Behrend Lions will finish the road trip with Division I opponent Cornell on December 31.
