ERIE, Pa. – Delonte' Joyce knocked down a jumper at the final buzzer to push Bethany past the Penn State Behrend men's basketball team 53-51 in the first round of the ECAC South Region Tournament.
Zane Hackett (Brookville, PA/Brookville) scored the final six points for the Lions (23-4) down the stretch including a dunk off a missed shot at the 6:46 mark to give Behrend a three point lead. Andrew Williams responded with a three-pointer for Bethany (18-10) to knot up the score at 49 with 4:38 left to play.
After a Bethany defensive stand, Joyce hit a jumper at the 3:27 mark to give the Bison a two-point lead. At the other end of the floor, Hackett hit a crucial layup to tie the score at 51. Antonio Rudolph came up with a steal for Bethany with 17 seconds left to set up Joyce's final shot.
Joyce, the Player of the Year in the President's Athletic Conference, netted a game-high 18 points including the game-winner.
Hackett finished the game with a team-high 15 points, his 24th double-digit scoring performance of the season. He finished just shy of a double-double with nine rebounds and recorded two blocks.
In his final game wearing a Behrend Lion uniform, Nick DeLisio (Aliquippa, PA/Central Valley) swiped a season-high four steals to go along with seven points and five assists. Connor McLaughlin (Ashtabula, OH/Edgewood) drained three three-pointers off the Lions bench to finish the game with nine points.
Behrend finished the season with an impressive 23-4 record, including capturing the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference regular season title with a 17-1 mark.