ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team wins their fifth straight, beating Franciscan 68-42 on Saturday afternoon.
Freshman guard Andy Niland (Fairview, PA/Fairview) went off for a career-high 22 points in Saturday's win. Niland made six baskets, all of which were from beyond the arc. He was 6-of-9 from three and added 4-of-4 from the charity stripe to lead all scorers.
Freshman Matt Colpoys (Erie, PA/Cathedral Prep) tied his career-high of twelve points, hitting that mark for the third time this season. He added three assists and was also a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Senior Zane Hackett (Brookville, PA/Brookville) recorded his seventh double-double of the season, breaking a career-high for the second straight game. On Wednesday, he shattered his point total and Saturday, Hackett broke his rebound mark with 16. He also added 15 points.
A rocky start proved not to be a problem for the Lions (9-1, 4-1 AMCC). The Barons (1-9, 1-4 AMCC) jumped out to a 13-4 lead to start the game. Behrend was able to battle back and tie the game at 16-all, before taking the lead at 19-18.
After taking the lead, the Lions never looked back. Franciscan battled to keep the game close, but the 14th ranked scoring defense nationally was too much for the Barons to penetrate, while Behrend's scoring was too heavy to stop.
A three-point Lion lead at halftime turned into a 26-point win. Franciscan cut the deficit to one four minutes into the second half. Two free throws by Colpoys started a 12-3 run in the next five minutes that gave Behrend a 10-point lead.
Just over two minutes later, the Lions played shut down defense and only gave up four points for the last 10 minutes of the game. Between the four Baron points, the Lions dropped 22 to outscore Franciscan 37-14 in the second half and secure a commanding win.
The Lions are back on the court tomorrow to square off against Pitt-Greensburg at 1 p.m. in the Junker Center.
