ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team extended their current win streak to seven after defeating Medaille 73-50 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) action Wednesday evening.
Zane Hackett (Brookville, Pa/Brookville) continues to dominate opposing defenses. In his last four games, Hackett has averaged 27.3 points per game, including 19 on 9-of-10 shooting Wednesday against the Mavericks (4-10, 2-5 AMCC). He also brought down 12 rebounds to record his ninth double-double in 12 games this season.
Freshman Mike Fischer (Wexford, PA/North Allegheny) set a career-high with 14 points for the Lions (11-1, 6-1 AMCC). Freshman Andy Niland (Fairview, PA/Fairview) set career-highs with nine rebounds and 10 assists. Niland was one point and one rebound away from posting a triple-double. He finished with nine points and rebounds to go along with the 10 dimes.
Behrend held the lead for nearly the entire game. After an 11-all tie with 12:29 left in the first half, Fischer dropped a three-pointer to give the Lions the lead they would not surrender. Their lead began to steadily grow from there.
The steady scoring from Behrend was fueled by a monster dunk by Hackett with just over four minutes left in the first. With Hackett trailing on a 2-on-1 fast break, Matt Colpoys (Erie, PA/Cathedral Prep) lobbed the ball above the rim while Hackett rose up and flushed a two-handled slam that nearly brought the gym down. The fans erupted allowing the Lions to feed off the energy and continue to extend their lead.
The second half was a similar story to the first. More steady scoring and defensive stops allowed Behrend's lead to grow little by little until the 23-point lead at the final buzzer.
Hackett scored six of his nine buckets in the second half, while Niland went 3-of-5 from three to lead the Lions in the final 20 minutes. Fischer, Malike Brinson (Erie, PA/Collegiate Academy) and Randy Kincel (Moosic, PA/Riverside) each added a basket off the bench. Kincel's bucket was his first point in his collegiate career.
Behrend is back in action Saturday at Mount Aloysius for a 1 p.m. start.
