Second Half Run Lifts Lions Over Pitt-Bradford

ERIE, Pa. - The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team used a strong second half to upend Pitt-Bradford Saturday evening, 78-51.

The Lions (17-6, 12-4 AMCC) put together a strong shooting performance, going 31-54 from the field (57.4%) and outrebounded the Panthers (11-11, 9-7 AMCC) 33-24.

Justin Gorny (South Park, PA/South Park) scored a game-high 19 points, 15 of which come in the first half, after going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and shooting 66.7 percent. He also pulled down five boards and dished out three assists.

Malquan Pullium (Erie, PA/Strong Vincent) scored 11 second-half points after shooting a perfect 3-for-3 and going 4-for-6 from the free-throw line. He finished the game with 17 points.

Dan Wanker (Pittsburgh, PA/South Park) and Connor McLaughlin (Ashtabula, OH/Edgewood) also added doudle-digits to the effort. Wanker scored 12 after shooting 66.7 percent and grabbed five boards. McLaughlin also shot 66.7 percent and added 13 points.

Behrend and pitt-Bradford played even for the majority of the first half which featured two ties and eight lead changes. The Lions went 3-for-3 from long range to start. After Fateem Brockington tied the game up at 24 with a three-point shot, Gorny made a layup that would turn out to be the last lead change of the night. Behrend then outscored the Panthers 11-6 to finish the half and led 37-31 at the break.

Bradford struggled to erase any of the Lions lead, trailing by between 5-10 points for the first seven minutes of the second half. Then, at the 13:22 mark, Gonry made a layup that sparked a 23-3 run, putting the game well out of reach for the Panthers. Kevin Scuilli's (McKees Rocks, PA/Montour) three at the 1:28 mark gave his team a 29-point lead, the largest of the night.

Tonight marks Behrend's seventh win by 20 or more points and 10th time they have shot at least 50 percent as a team.

They will play their last regular season road game on Wednesday when they travel to Hilbert. Game time is set for 8 p.m.