BUFFALO, NY – Russ Conley (Transfer, PA/Reynolds) scored nearly half of the Penn State Behrend men's basketball points with a career high of 32 to help the Lions defeat Medaille 72-69 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) action on Thursday night.

What started out as an easy task with a 14-point lead at halftime for the Lions (5-2, 3-1 AMCC) turned into a tie ball game at 51-all with 7:19 left to play. In true Mavericks (5-3, 2-2 AMCC) fashion, Medaille came back to take the game down to the wire.

In addition to Conley, the key for Behrend was the stat line that reads 10-for-10 from the free-throw line in the second half. Anytime the Mavericks had a chance to take the lead, the Lions knocked down shots from the charity stripe, including six straight in the final 26 seconds.

Medaille did take the lead momentarily on two occasions with the latter coming at 1:24 remaining in the game. Nick DeLisio (Aliquippa, PA/Central Valley) delivered his second three-pointer of the night that put Behrend ahead for good.

After that triple, DeLisio started the run at the line, knocking down a pair before Pat St. Andrews (State College, PA/State College) and Keith Wallace (Erie, PA/Central Tech) did the same to hold off the Mavericks.

Not only was Conley near perfect in the first half, but as a team the Lions shot 80 percent from the floor and held a 16-5 advantage on the boards to take a 37-23 lead into the locker rooms. For the entire game, Behrend finished with 62.2 percent shooting from the field.

Conley added 11 rebounds for the double double and DeLisio was in double figures with 14 points.

The Lions return to action on Saturday at Fredonia in non-conference action. Game time is 4 p.m.