ERIE, Pa. - The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team will host a Tip-Off Tournament on Thursday and Saturday in the Junker Center. The Lions will take on Mt. Union on Thursday and host Juniata on Saturday.
Schedule of Events/Coverage
Thursday, November 17
Behrend vs. Mt. Union, 7 p.m. (Live Stats | Video)
Friday, November 18
Mt. Union vs. Juniata, 7 p.m. (Live Stats| Video)
Saturday, November 19
Behrend vs. Juniata, 5 p.m. (Live Stats | Video)
Behrend News & Notes
* Behrend was picked to finish third in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Preseason Coaches Poll, behind top pick Penn State Altoona and second-place La Roche
* Head coach Dave Niland enters his 28th season with the Lions with 534 career victories under his belt
* Behrend is 2-0 on the young season, defeating Thiel and Bethany on the road to start
* Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) led the Lions in scoring in both games
* The junior scored 18 at Thiel and then shot 61.5 percent from the floor for a game-high 21 points on Saturday
* DiRienzo went 7-for-14 from behind the arc, adding five rebounds, two assists and two steals on the week
* Newcomer Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) is second on the team with 11.0 points per game
* McDonough registered 14 points in the win over the Bison
No. 7 Mt. Union News & Notes
* The Purple Raiders enter the tournament with a 2-0 record and a No. 7 national ranking
* Mt. Union collected wins over Whitworth (84-74) and Maryville (99-75)
* Senior guard Collen Gurley was named the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Athlete of the Week
* Gurley scored 27 points in the season opener, going 9-for-16 from the floor, before adding 20 points vs. Maryville
* The Purple Raiders went 23-5 last year, falling to No. 2 Marietta in the OAC Final but advancing to the NCAA Tournament
* Mt. Union has four players averaging double-digit points led by Gurley's 23.5 ppg
Juniata News & Notes
* The Eagles are 1-1 this season, falling in overtime to St. Vincent (73-67) and defeating Penn College (93-67)
* Juniata went 16-12 last season
* Head coach Greg Curley, a former men's basketball assistant and head golf coach at Behrend in 1999, enters his 22nd season with the Eagles
* Junior Chase Husted has started both games this season and leads the team with 16.0 points per game
Series History
* Behrend and Mt. Union are meeting for the sixth time in program history
* The Purple Raiders have a 3-2 edge in the all-time series
* The Lions and Eagles have only met once (2006-07) with Behrend taking the win (77-69)