Men's Basketball Takes Down Defending AMCC Champions

GREENSBURG, Pa. – Dan Wanker (Pittsburgh, PA/South Park) tallied his second straight double-double with a career-high 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Penn State Behrend women's basketball team past Pitt-Greensburg 89-45 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) action on Wednesday.

Wanker was just one of five players in double figures in points to help the Lions (7-2, 4-0 AMCC) breeze past the AMCC defending champions and remain undefeated in conference play heading into the New Year.

Starters Justin Gorny (South Park, PA/South Park) and Malquan Pullium (Erie, PA/Strong Vincent) each added 14 and 13 points, respectively. Gorny went 6-for-8 from the field, while Malike Brinson (Erie, PA/Collegiate Academy) added 11 points in 13 minutes of work.

The Bobcats (0-10, 0-5 AMCC) got 14 points and five rebounds from Jay Grubb.

Behrend held a commanding 38-22 lead at halftime and never let up in the second half, shooting 55.6 percent from the floor to outscore Pitt-Greensburg 51-23 for the Lions largest margin of victory this season (+44).

In the first half, Behrend held the Bobcats scoreless for nearly five minutes to break a 5-all tie and jump ahead 16-5 with 12:24 before the break. Cody Spaid broke the scoreless streak with a layup at 12:10 but Mike Fischer (Wexford, PA/North Allegheny) drained a three-pointer and Gorny followed with a basket to make it 21-7.

Fischer went on to make three more triples over a two minute, 30 second span to extend the lead to 34-16 at the 6:57 mark.

The Lions stayed hot through the second half to register their highest offensive output this season with 89 total points.

Fischer recorded all 12 points from behind the arc and Andy Niland (Fairview, PA/Fairview) added eight points and six assists.

Behrend returns to action on Thursday, December 29 against Immaculata at St. John Fisher Tournament. Game time is 6 p.m.