The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team cruised to victory over the Hilbert Hawks on Wednesday, February 17 on Behrend's senior night at the Junker Center. The final score of the contest was 85-71 as Behrend improved to 16-7 overall and 13-6 in AMCC play. Before the game Behrend seniors Adam Potter (Pittsburgh/Mt. Lebanon), Adam Kaiser (Erie/Cathedral Prep), and DeShawn Haynes (Pittsburgh/Perry) were recognized for their contributions to the Behrend men's basketball program.
Hilbert started the game out with a 3-pointer for a quick 3-0 lead, and a few minutes later went ahead 5-3 with both baskets coming from Eric Hinton. The Behrend Lions quickly tied the game and forged a lead with a 14-6 run to build a 17-11 lead with 13:16 remaining in the first half. The visiting Hawks connected on back-to-back threes to tie the game a minute later but Behrend used eight first-half three-pointers to close out the half with a 30-11 run. Chris Saltzman (Pittsburgh/Central Catholic) scored 14 points and grabbed seven boards as Behrend took a 47-28 lead to the break.
In the second half the blue and white pushed the pace and led by as many as 24 points, at 66-42 with 11:24 remaining. Hilbert would not go quietly and fought back to climb within eight at 66-58 with just under eight minutes to play. The Behrend Lions then regained control making seven of their next nine field goal attempts to clinch the 14-point victory.
Saltzman finished with a 22-point, 10-rebound night while Justin Kovac (Venetia/Peters Township) scored 13 points to go with eight assists. Potter scored 13, while Kaiser dropped in ten, and Nick Dvorsky (Pittsburgh/North Allegheny) added 11 of his own. Behrend forced 16 Hilbert turnovers, converting many of those steals into easy points.
Assistant Coach Jimmy Sutton said, "It's always good to play and win in the Junker. Hopefully we can continue this push heading into our final conference game and next week's AMCC playoffs."
Hilbert sees their record fall to 3-21 overall and 2-17 in the conference. Next up for the blue and white will be the final regular season and conference game on the road at Penn State Altoona. The game is set to be played on Saturday, February 20 with the tip being at 3:00 p.m. The AMCC Tournament is set to begin on Tuesday, February 23 with matchups and times TBA.
