PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team increased their winning streak to 11 games on Saturday afternoon, defeating La Roche 71-59.
Getting Top 25 votes in the D3Hoops national rankings, the Lions (15-1, 10-1 AMCC) avenged their lone loss of the season by beating the Redhawks (7-11, 7-4 AMCC) on their home court. La Roche gave Behrend their only loss so far back on December 5 with a two-point, 59-57 win.
Zane Hackett (Brookville, PA/Brookville) led the way once again for the Lions. He scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting and added 15 rebounds, all of which were on the defensive glass. Hackett's double-double is his 12th of the season, putting him in a tie for second nationally.
Andy Niland (Fairview, PA/Fairview) and Malquan Pullium (Erie, PA/Strong Vincent) also had big games for Behrend. They dropped 16 and 15 points respectively. Niland went 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and made six of his seven attempts from the line. Pullium shot 6-of-11 from the field, including two threes and added six boards.
As a team, the Lions shot 48.9 percent from the floor and 54.5 percent from range. Their third ranked scoring defense in the country allowed just under their season average of 59.4 points.
Arnes Bajgora from La Roche led the home squad with a game-high 23 points. He also added four rebounds, an assist and a block.
Behrend has gotten themselves out to early leads in recent games that gives them a strong cushion at the halftime break. Close battles early, followed by a breakout run propels them to that cushion. In a 15-all game with 12:44 left in the half, the Lions went on an 11-2 run to take a sound lead. They finished the half up 12.
The second half was evenly played. Behrend increased their lead to 18 with just over six left to play, but a 6-0 run by the Redhawks brought the lead back down to 12, where it remained until the final buzzer.
The Lions are back on the road on Wednesday at Pitt-Bradford with a 6 p.m. tip.
