Men’s Basketball Squares Off With Pitt-Greensburg Saturday

ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team welcomes Pitt-Greensburg to the Junker Center for a matchup on Saturday, Jan. 20. The women's game begins at 2 p.m., followed by the men's game at 4 p.m.

Coverage:

Video | Live Stats | Game Notes

Behrend News & Notes:

* Behrend took down Alfred State, 74-51, Wednesday night
* Four Lions recorded double-figures against the Pioneers
* Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) scored a game-high 27 points to go along with seven rebounds and two assists. He notched 17 of his 27 points in the second half
* Off the bench, Mason Blankenberg (Ontario, NY/Wayne) tallied a season-high 18 points and a career-high nine rebounds, draining a career-best three triples
* Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) added 11 points for the Lions, while Michael Sopko (New Castle, PA/Neshannock) was the final Behrend player to register double figures, finishing with 10 points and five rebounds. Sopko also delivered two blocks on the defensive end
* As a team, Behrend shot 50 percent from the field (30-60) and outscored the Pioneers in the paint (42-28)
* DiRienzo leads the AMCC with 20.4 points per game, while RJ Marsh (State College, PA/Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy) pulls down a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game to rank ninth in the conference
* The Lions are first in the conference in free-throw percentage (74.7) and third in field-goal percentage (46.0) and three-point percentage (34.5)

Meet the Opposition:

* Pitt-Greensburg has won its last two games to push its overall record to 7-9 and conference record to 6-3. The Bobcats were victorious against Mount Aloysius on Wednesday (93-86)
* Sophomore guard Matthew Marinchak leads the team and is fourth in the AMCC in points per game (18.6)
* Trent Rozich (14.8 ppg) and Micah Jones (11.0) are the other Bobcats to score in double-figures, while Rozich ranks third in the conference in assists per game (3.8) and sixth in rebounds per game (8.0)
* As a team, Pitt-Greensburg is currently tied for first in steals per game (9.4) and stands second in the AMCC in free-throw percentage (72.8)
* The Bobcats notched a 72-68 win at home against Behrend on December 2. Marinchak delivered a game-high 22 points, followed by Rozich's 21 points
* Pitt-Greensburg was projected to finish seventh in the 2023-24 AMCC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
* Jones and Marinchak were named Preseason Players to Watch
* Head coach Chris Klimchock is in his third season as the leader of the men's basketball program

Series History:

* Behrend leads the all-time series 38-16, dating back to the 1997-98 season. However, Pitt-Greensburg has won three of the last four matchups against the Lions, including one earlier this season on December 2 (72-68)