ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team extended their winning streak to six games Wednesday night defeating Pitt-Bradford, 67-47. The Lions (17-2. 11-1 AMCC) shot 52.1 percent from the floor and held their opponent under 50 points for the seventh time this season.
Zane Hackett (Brookville, PA/Brookville) notched a double-double scoring a game-high 20 points and reeled in 10 rebounds. He continued his hot shooting making 7-of-11 attempts from the field and drained all six of his free-throw attempts.
Malquan Pullium (Erie, PA/Strong Vincent) gave Behrend their first lead of the game at 14:30 mark in the first half swiping a steal and going coast to coast for a layup to give the Lions an 8-7 advantage. Behrend made four baskets in a row following Pullium's layup including a Connor McLaughlin (Ashtabula, OH/Edgewood) three-pointer to take 17-8 lead with 10:40 remaining in the first frame.
After a Zach Smith layup that cut the Lions lead to five, Behrend went on 13-2 run that pumped the lead to 16 late in the first half. Nick DeLisio (Aliquippa, PA/Central Valley) scored the Lions last five points of the half as Behrend headed to the locker room with a 33-19 lead.
The Lions came out strong in the second half taking a 20-point lead off a Hackett layup at the 17:32 mark. Behrend held a sizeable advantage for the remainder of the game. The Lions earned their eleventh conference victory and keep sole possession of first place in the AMCC with the win.
Wes Davic (Grafton, OH/Midview) scored in double-figures netting 11 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting and also added six boards. Mike Knoll (Erie, PA/Cathedral Prep) provided solid minutes off the bench hitting all three of his shots and went 2-for-2 from the line for eight points.
Up next for Behrend is another conference match-up with rival Penn State Altoona on Saturday. The game is slated to start at 3 p.m.