ERIE, Pa. – The No. 23 Penn State Behrend men's basketball team put on another big show Wednesday night, defeating the Alfred State Pioneers 81-45 in non-conference action.
The 36-point margin of victory marks their largest win of the season. 50 percent shooting from the floor, 12 made threes and 17-of-20 from the free throw line helped propel the Lions (18-1) to their 14th straight win.
After taking over the top spot in the national rankings in scoring defense (58.4 ppg allowed), Behrend has put on two defensive clinics. They held Penn State Altoona to 44 points on Saturday and followed that by only allowing 45 to the Pioneers (7-15) Wednesday.
On the offensive side, scoring came from all over the floor by nearly everyone on the Lions' roster. All but one of the Behrend players recorded at least two points. Freshman Matt Colpoys (Erie, PA/Cathedral Prep) led the team and all scorers with a career-high 20 points. He also brought down four rebounds and added three assists and a steal.
Senior Zane Hackett (Brookville, PA/Brookville) got back to his double-double routine after going two games without recording one. He totaled 11 points and 10 boards on a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe.
Malquan Pullium (Erie, PA/Strong Vincent) also had a nice game for the Lions. He followed right behind Colpoys with 15 points of his own, adding three assists. Andy Niland (Fairview, PA/Fairview) continues to run the point for Behrend. He finds shooters with open looks and that was no different Wednesday. Niland dished six dimes, 1.3 assists above his 4.7 apg average which ranks him third in the conference.
In their last few games, the Lions have made their living opening up big leads early and holding it through the second half. Against Alfred State, Behrend built their big margin of victory in the first nine minutes of the second half.
Although they secured a 12-point lead going into the halftime break, that was not where their lead would stay. To open the second half, the Lions went on a quick 13-0 run to really extend their lead and give them even more momentum than they already had.
They would not slow down however. After a three by Justin Wallace of the Pioneers, Behrend went right back on a 10-0 run and opened their lead to 32 (60-28). The Lions cruised from there and secured their largest margin of victory of the season at 36.
Behrend returns to conference play Saturday when they travel to Franciscan for a double header with the women. The men's game tips at 2 p.m.
