ALTOONA, Pa. –Russ Conley scored a career-high 28 points on 11-for-15 shooting to propell Behrend over Penn State Altoona 78-55, Saturday night in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference play.
Conley's 28 point effort helped the men bounce back after a disappointing loss to Medaille last Wednesday. Tonight, the Lions (14-2, 9-1 AMCC) shot 55.8 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from behind-the-arc in the win over Altoona.
Chris Saltzman was the only other Behrend player to reach double-digits. Saltzman recorded 21 points, eight rebounds and tied his career high in assists with six. In Justin Kovac's absence, Dan Simpson and with Mason Marion played well along with the rest of the Behrend backcourt.
The first 10 minutes were back-and-forth until late in the first half. Back-to-back triples by Saltzman and another by Nick Thorsen, gave the Lions a 28-19 advantage with six minutes remaining. The Altoona Lions (3-13, 3-7 AMCC) would put together a few baskets but it wasn't enough to slow down Behrend's inside presence and the Lions would take a 42-26 lead going into the locker room.
Behrend held a 24-point margin (56-32) at the 14:27 mark and never looked back thanks to Saltzman dropping the dime on a Conley dunk and then a long-range jumper from Pat St. Andrews who finished the night with eight points and four assists. The Lions went into cruise control, winning convincingly, 78-55.
The men return to the Junker Center to face Hilbert Wednesday at 8 p.m. following the women.
