DiRienzo, Blankenberg Tally Double-Figures To Lead Lions In Season-Opener

ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team picked up an opening night victory, 86-68, over Allegheny Friday night in the Junker Center.

Score: Penn State Behrend 86, Allegheny 68
Records: Penn State Behrend (1-0), Allegheny (0-1)

Key Moments:

* The Lions started off the game on an 11-0 run in the first four minutes that was capped off by a Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) fastbreak layup to force an early timeout for Allegheny
* Behrend would never look back, controlling a lead for the entire contest. The team tallied 47 first half points, shooting 52.8 percent (19-for-36) from the field and 53.8 percent (7-for-13) from three
* Three Lions recorded double-figure scoring in the first frame with Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) leading the way with 15 points, followed by Mason Blankenberg's (Ontario, NY/Wayne) 14 points and McDonough's 10 points
* Behrend's defense only allowed Allegheny to shoot 36.4 percent (8-for-22) from the field in the first half to take a 47-28 advantage to the locker room
* The Lions continued to extend their lead in the second half, grabbing their biggest advantage of the night on a DiRienzo three-pointer with 2:38 remaining in the game to make the score 82-59
* Blankenberg finished two points shy of tying his career-high of 27 points, going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc to notch 25 points. Blankenberg also pulled down seven rebounds
* DiRienzo registered his 66^th career double-figure scoring effort, notching a game-high 30 points to go along with five rebounds and two assists. This marks DiRienzo's eighth contest with 30 or more points with the most recent accomplishment coming at Juniata in the last year's ECAC Semifinal (30 points)
* McDonough was the final Lion to garner double-digit scoring, finishing with 12 points and four assists on Friday
* Senior Isaac DeGregorio (Allison Park, PA/North Catholic) delivered a career-high seven assists, while chipping in seven points. His career-high in helpers was previously five that was matched two times, most recently at Wells last season
* On the glass, Michael Sopko (New Castle, PA/Neshannock) grabbed eight rebounds, which was two shy of tying his career high in rebounds
* Allegheny was led by Luke Barker's 27 points and seven rebounds. James Sitter added 15 points for the Gators
* The Lions held an advantage over the Gators in points off turnover (12-0), in the paint (50-14), second chance (16-2), and bench points (10-6)
* For the game, Behrend finished 35-for-65 (53.8 percent) from the field and 9-for-21 (42.9 percent) from three

Up Next:

* Behrend begins four games on the road, first at Thiel on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.