HAMBURG, N.Y. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team captured their fourth Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) championship after defeating Medaille 63-60 on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Lions (20-8) earned the AMCC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Behrend started the game hot on the offense end, opening up a 10-point lead through the first nine minutes of the opening stanza. The Mavericks were not going quietly though as they battled back to take a 33-30 lead into halftime.
The Lions were quick to steal the momentum to start the second half. Russ Conley (Transfer, PA/Reynolds) led the charge with six points, helping Behrend turn a three-point deficit into a five-point advantage by the 15:01 mark. A Keith Wallace (Erie, PA/Central Tech) layup capped the 10-2 run and forced a Medaille timeout.
After the two teams traded threes coming out of the timeout, the Mavericks found some life. Medaille netted nine straight to ignite the crowd with less than 10 minutes to play, holding a 47-43 lead.
Now, with less than five minutes to play, it was the Lions' turn to answer with a run of their own. After an easy layup by Wallace, the Mavericks missed a golden opportunity to answer under the hoop. Nick DeLisio (Aliquippa, PA/Central Valley) turned the missed Medaille layup into a three-point play the old fashion way for a five-point swing in favor of Behrend. Conley followed with two from the line and with two minutes to play, the game was knotted at 54-all.
The Lions trailed by two with 36 seconds to play, but DeLisio came up huge from beyond the arc. The sophomore guard fired a three without hesitation to put Behrend ahead by one.
The Mavericks had a chance to answer but Adam Palcic (Greensburg, PA/Greensburg Central Catholic) made the play of the game on the defensive end. The senior dove across the floor to disrupt what looked to be the go-ahead basket and forced the turnover. Medaille was quick to foul, sending Pat St. Andrews (State College, PA/State College) to the line for two. St. Andrews hit both clutch free throws to put the Lions up by three. Once again, the Mavericks came right back with a quick layup and now only trailed by one.
With six seconds to play, Medaille missed what would have been a game-changing three. Wallace grabbed the rebound and was sent to the charity stripe for two. Wallace hit the bottom of the net twice and stole the next Mavericks' possession to seal the victory for Behrend.
Conley led all scorers with 23 points to go with a game-high nine rebounds. Wallace registered 12 points, four rebounds, and three steals. DeLisio was also in double figures with 10 points and four assists.
The Lions will now wait until Monday morning to find out who and where they will play in the NCAA Tournament.