Defense Propels Lions Past Misericordia

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team defeated Misericordia 53-42 in the consolation game of the Tournament of Heroes hosted by the College of Staten Island. The Lions (8-1) played outstanding defense holding their opponent under 50 points for the fourth time this season.

Coming off their first loss of the season in the tournament's opening round, Behrend displayed a balanced scoring attack as four Lions notched double figures. Nick DeLisio (Aliquippa, PA/Central Valley) headed Behrend with 13 points, five assists, two rebounds and two steals. Malquan Pullium (Erie, PA/Strong Vincent) turned in a solid performance adding 12 points, four rebounds and a steal.

Playing 36 minutes, Keith Wallace (Erie, PA/Central Tech) went five-of-six from the charity stripe and totaled 11 points. He also chipped in six rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. Zane Hackett (Brookville, PA/Brookville) netted 11 points to go along with five rebounds and two blocks.

Behrend won the battle on the boards 39-to-31 thanks to the inside presence of Wes Davic (Grafton, OH/Midview). The sophomore dominated the glass hauling in 12 rebounds.

After trailing 28-14 at the break, Misericordia began to build their comeback. Trailing by 12 with 14:06 to play, Misericordia put together a 9-0 run and found themselves down by just three with 10:13 remaining. With 4:49 left in the game Joe Busacca converted a layup to even the score at 38.

Breaking the tie, Wallace and DeLisio notched two straight buckets to give the Lions a four point lead with 3:08 left in the final frame. With 2:24 until the buzzer, DeLisio hit a clutch three-pointer to pump the Behrend lead to seven. After a Misericordia bucket, Pullium followed with another three-pointer giving the Lions an eight point lead with just over a minute left. Wallace hit three important free-throws and Pullium added another bucket to seal the victory.

Behrend shot 12-of-16 from the free-throw line in the low scoring affair and won the turnover battle 13-to-10.

The Lions return to conference play Saturday on the road against Pitt-Bradford. Tip-off is at 3 p.m.