Strong Second Half Shooting Moves Behrend To Hobart Tournament Championship Game

GENEVA, N.Y. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team downed Buffalo State, 64-57, Friday night in the first round of the Hobart Tournament.

Score: Penn State Behrend 64, Buffalo State 57
Records: Penn State Behrend (3-1), Buffalo State (1-3)

Key Moments:

* Buffalo State started the game on an 11-0 run in the first five minutes
* The Lions then proceeded to go on a 7-0 run of their own in the next two minutes
* Behrend tied the game at 13 apiece with 11:54 on the clock, thanks to a three-pointer from Nate Edwards (Girard, PA/Girard)
* Senior Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) made a driving layup with 10 minutes remaining in the first half to give the Lions their first lead of the contest
* Since taking its first lead of the game, Behrend ended the first period on a 12-7 run to take a 27-18 advantage into halftime
* DiRienzo led the Lions with nine first half points, while Edwards chipped in six points with two baskets from downtown
* Dolan Waldo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) converted a three-point play to give Behrend its biggest lead of the night of 14 (35-21) four minutes into the second half
* The Bengals cut their deficit to six (40-34) with 10:17 left in Friday's contest with a steal and fastbreak layup from Oryan DeJesus
* The Lions put the lead back to 12 (48-36) when Mason Blankenberg (Ontario, NY/Wayne) delivered his own three-point play with 7:46 remaining in the game
* Buffalo State continued to try and chip away at Behrend's lead, but the Lions hot shooting of 55.0 percent from the field (11-for-20), 55.6 percent from three (5-for-9), and 71.4 percent (10-for-14) from the free throw line in the second half secured their third win of the season
* DiRienzo scored a game-high 18 points to go along with four rebounds
* Other Lions to tally double-figures on Friday were Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) (16 points) and Blankenberg (12 points). Blankenberg finished with his first double-double of the season as he pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds and also led Behrend with two steals on the defensive end
* Off the bench, Edwards notched a season-high 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc, while collecting four rebounds
* Waldo was also active on the glass, coming down with six rebounds for the Lions
* The Bengals had three players finish in double-figures: Matt Parkinson (16 points), Bryce Williams (12 points), and Maley McCurty (12 points)
* Behrend outrebounded Buffalo State (39-29) and held a slight edge in assists (8-6)

Up Next:

* The Lions will play in the Hobart Tournament Championship Game tomorrow at 5:15 against the hosts Hobart