WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team ended their season with a loss to Wilkes in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Quarterfinals 77-62 Friday evening.
The Colonels (19-8) built up their four-point first-half lead to eventually reach a 21-point advantage late in the game against the Lions (21-8).
For the 23rd time this season, Dan Wanker (Pittsburgh, PA/South Park) registered double-digit scoring with game-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Along with his scoring, he grabbed nine points on the night.
Malike Brinson (Erie, PA/Central Tech) and Derrick Clark (Erie, PA/Central Tech) were the other two Behrend players to score in double figures. Brinson recorded 14 points on 3-of-4 three-point shooting, while Clark shot 83.3 percent from the field for a total of 13 points. Brinson also pulled down four rebounds.
The game opened up on the right foot for Behrend. On the first possession of the game, Andy Niland (Fairview, PA/Fairview) dished a pass to Wanker for a layup just 37 seconds in the game. However, Wilkes retaliated with a pair of threes over the next minute and a half, making the score 6-2 early.
At the 9:33 mark, a three-point from Jack Bova put the Colonels up by two (22-20), but the Lions quickly responded to find a lead of their own.
Brinson led the charge by knocking down a couple free-throw to tie the game, then Wanker followed with a layup to give them a two-point lead. A couple minutes later, Clark converted on a pair of layups to give the Lions their largest lead, and also the last lead, of the game.
Just as Behrend gained momentum, Wilkes shut them down with a pair of triples and an 11-1 run to end the half, making the score 33-29 at the break.
Wilkes continued their first half-momentum and ran away with it in the second half. With 5 minutes on the clock, Mark Mullins hit a three to mark a 21-point lead.
The Lions shot 48.9 percent from the field, while the Colonels shot a 38.5 field-goal percentage. Wilkes shot a perfect 14-for-14 from the charity stripe, and Behrend made 12-of-14 foul shots.
