ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball was clearly glad to be home.
Playing in their first game at the Junker Center in over a week, the Lions (16-3, 10-2 AMCC) used a late first half run sparked by Shane Skelly (Westlake, OH/Westlake) and a late game run sparked by Keith Wallace (Erie, PA/Central Tech) to knock off Mt. Aloysius 67-63 on Saturday afternoon.
Skelly had a double-double, finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds. He scored 15 in the first half, and went on a personal 8-0 run just before the break to help turn a seven point deficit into a three point Lions lead going into the locker room.
The upset-minded Mounties (8-10, 5-7 AMCC) did not back down in the second half, holding a two point lead with as little as 5:09 left. Mt. Aloysius was tough defensively, holding the usually hot-shooting Lions to just 4-of-23 from behind the arc.
Wallace scored five straight points at the 4:42 mark to give Behrend a three-point lead. The junior finished with a team-high 19 points.
With that advantage down to one, the Lions forced a key turnover and flipped it into three points on a Nick DeLisio (Aliquippa, PA/Central Valley) trey from the corner with 2:05 left. The junior finished with 10 points.
Shawn Greenfiled cut the Mounties deficit in half on a pair of free-throws, and Mt. Aloysius got the ball back following a stop with under a minute left and a chance to tie or take the lead.
But Behrend clamped down defensively, forcing a Clint Wagner missed three-pointer with 0:50 seconds left. After a Wallace rebound, the junior drained the ensuing free throws to put Behrend back up two possessions.
Following two clutch DeLisio foul shots, the Mounties had one more chance to tie it. Greenfield went to the line, made the first, missed the second, and Mt. Aloysius came up with the offensive rebound.
The Lions tightened up again, forcing a turnover. They sealed the game on four more free throws, two by DeLisio and two by Casey Courneen (Sewickley, PA/Quaker Valley).
Behrend was boosted by their performance underneath – The Lions outscored the Mounties 36-20 in the paint.
Up next, Behrend will travel to Medaille on Wednesday, February 5 at 6 p.m.
