MCCANDLESS, Pa. - The Penn State Behend men's basketball team defeated La Roche for the second time this season Wednesday evening, 63-59.
The game came right down to the wire, just like the first meeting between the two teams. After Behrend (16-6, 11-4 AMCC) built a 12-point lead before the half, La Roche (15-7, 11-4 AMCC) scratched and clawed their way back into the game, coming within one point of the Lions on two seperate occasions.
With just 59 seconds left in the game, Dan Wanker (Pittsburgh, PA/South Park) made a layup to put Behrend up by four, 58-54. La Roche quickly answered with a layup of their own, but Andy Niland (Fairview, PA/Fairview) put the Lions back up by four with 22 seconds left on the clock.
Thomas Trell got the ball and made an and-one layup, coverting his free-throw to put the Redhawks back within one, 60-59. Wanker headed to the free-throw line right away. He drained the first, but missed the second which gave La Roche one more chance. Zach Gould found himself open beyond the arc, but missed a three with just one second left that would have given the Redhawks the lead.
Wanker was sent to the line one more time and made both of his free throws to finish the game. He finished with 17 points after going 6-for-10 from the field and pulled down six boards.
Justin Gorny (South Park, PA/South Park) added a game high 18 points with the help of perfect shooting from three-point range (4-for-4). He also added five rebounds and a pair of assists.
Connor McLaughlin (Ashtabula, OH/Edgewood) scored eight first-half points and finished the game with 12 after shooting 50 percent. Niland added a team-high seven assists and also added seven points to the effort.
As a team, the Lions shot 46 percent (23-for-50). clutch shooting was the difference maker down the stretch, going 5-for-6 from the charity stripe and 2-for-2 from the floor with under two minutes to play to help derail the La Roche comeback.
Behrend is now 11-4 in the AMCC and have pasted the Redhawks in the standings, now in second place behind Medaille. Pitt-Bradford will head to Erie on Saturday to take on the Lions beginning at 8 p.m.
