Erie, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team fell to La Roche, 45-41 on Saturday in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) action.
Poor shooting by both teams kept the game low scoring, but clutch free-throws in the final seconds helped to keep the Redhawks unbeaten in AMCC play.
The Lions (2-6, 2-2 AMCC) got off to a quick start, trading baskets with La Roche for most of the first half. The final seven minutes would prove to be different though, Behrend failed to score a point down the stretch. The Lions only made six field-goals in the opening stanza, but used solid defense to keep the game close The Redhawks took a 24-16 halftime lead into the locker room.
With the second half underway, Behrend came out strong. Dan Simpson (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) hit two straight layups to cut the deficit in half. After an Evan Eaton (Mt. Lebanon, PA/Mt. Lebanon) layup, Casey Courneen (Sewickley, PA/Quaker Valley) hit a three and suddenly the Lions had crawled their way back to the lead, 25-24.
From that point, Behrend would score seven more points to push their opening run to 16-0. The Lions held La Roche scoreless for the first ten minutes of the second half. Over the next three minutes, the Redhawks would go on a run of their own to knot the game at 35-all.
After a Ryan Frantz three pointer and a Joel McIntosh layup, it was La Roche who now had the four-point advantage. The Redhawks wouldn't look back from there, holding Behrend to just two field-goals in the final two minutes. Frantz sealed the game with two free-throws to secure the victory.
Despite forcing 20 turnovers, the Lions lost the rebounding battle 34-25. Russ Conley (Transfer, PA/Reynolds) and Eaton led all Behrend players in scoring with seven each.
Behrend will be back in action on December 29th at Lycoming. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
