ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team claimed the No. 3 seed for the 2016 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region Tournament, announced on Monday.
The tournament is an eight-team field with a quarterfinal round followed by semifinal and championship rounds. The Lions (20-5) will host No. 6 Grove City (18-8) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Junker Center.
The winner between Behrend and the Wolverines will advance to the semifinal round Saturday at the site of the highest remaining seed left in the tournament.
The Lions will be making their 14th appearance in the ECAC tournament, last capturing the South Region title in 2010. Behrend recently finished second in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) regular season and received a first-round bye in the conference playoffs.
The Lions were upset by No. 3 Pitt-Greensburg in overtime in the semifinals, 67-64. The No. 2 seed Grove City in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) also fell in their conference tournament. They lost to seventh-seeded Westminster 59-57 in a quarterfinal matchup.
Behrend and Grove City will be meeting for the first time since the 2006-07 season where the Lions snagged a 76-46 victory.
The Lions are currently on a three-game skid and have lost four of their last five games. They were ranked as high as 21st in Division III after a 15-game win streak through the middle part of their season. The Wolverines, although being upset by Westminster in their conference tournament, were on a six-game win streak to close out their regular season.
The tournament layout is as follows:
First Round – Wednesday, March 2
No. 8 Juniata (16-10) at No. 1 DeSales (23-3) – 7:30 p.m.
No. 7 Lebanon Valley (16-10) at No. 2 Swathmore (20-7) – TBD
No. 6 Grove City (18-8) at No. 3 Penn State Behrend (20-5) – 7 p.m.
No. 5 Nuemann (19-8) at No. 4 Arcadia (12-8) – TBD
Semifinals – Saturday, March 5 hosted by top remaining seed
No. 1 DeSales /No. 8 Juniata vs. No. 4 Arcadia /No. 5 Nuemann winner – TBD
No. 2 Swathmore /No. 7 Lebanon Valley winner vs. No. 3 Penn State Behrend /No. 6 Grove City – TBD
Championship – Sunday, March 6 hosted by Saturday's host
Two Semifinal Winners – TBD
