Tournament Information
ERIE, Pa. – Having won the last two Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Tournament Titles, the Penn State Behrend men's basketball team knows what it takes to bring home the trophy. As the conference regular-season champions, the Lions will have the opportunity to win their third straight conference crown on their home floor.
Behrend has got the job done all year with strong defense and great leadership from starting senior guards Nick DeLisio (Aliquippa, PA/Central Valley) and Keith Wallace (Erie, PA/Central Tech).
Sitting at No. 23 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, the Lions are no strangers to national rankings in numerous statistical categories. Currently the number two scoring defense in the nation, Behrend has held opponents to a measly 55.7 ppg and limited the opposition under 50 points eight times. Wallace is a huge part of the stifling defense ranking 15th in the nation snatching an AMCC-leading 2.6 steals per game. He became the program's all-time steal leader earlier this season and has five 4-plus steal games this season.
DeLisio is a two-time All-Conference selection and is a four-year starter for the Lions. He joined the 1,000 point club earlier this season and is eight points away from taking over the six spot on the programs all-time points list. This season he is averaging 14.6 ppg and 4.8 assists per game. Along with shooting 44.4 percent from three-point land, he boasts an impressive 2.1 assist to turnover ratio.
The Lions big men have dominated the paint thanks to junior Zane Hackett (Brookville, PA/Brookville) and sophomore Wes Davic (Grafton, OH/Midview). Hackett is a force to be reckoned with down low, leading the squad with 15.6 ppg on 59.9 percent shooting from the floor. Best known for his thunderous dunks, he has been a consistent scorer all season with 22 double-figure scoring performances in 25 games. Hackett has eight 20-point games and brings in 6.7 rbg.
Davic leads the AMCC and is ranked 13th in the nation hauling in 10.9 rpg. Ranking third nationally with 4.24 offensive rebounds per game, Davic exploded in his first career start in the season-opener against Thiel recording 18 points and 19 rebounds. He has 10 double-doubles this season and 13 double-digit rebounding games.
The Lions enter this weekend on a 12-game winning streak and tied for the best start in program history with the 1999-2000 team with a 23-2 record. Behrend will begin its quest for the program's sixth conference championship on Friday at 6 p.m. when they host No. 4 Hilbert. The Lions defeated Hilbert just seven days ago, edging the Hawks 64-62. The winner of that game will play the winner of No. 2 Medaille and No. 3 Pitt-Greensburg in the conference championship Saturday at 3 p.m.
