Men’s Basketball Makes Late Second Half Push To Grab First AMCC Win of The Season

ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team narrowly defeated Pitt-Greensburg, 79-72, to begin Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) play at home on Saturday.

Score: Penn State Behrend 79, Pitt-Greensburg 72
Records: Penn State Behrend (4-3, 1-0 AMCC), Pitt-Greensburg (4-4, 0-2 AMCC)

Key Moments:

* The Lions controlled a steady lead for most of the first half against Pitt-Greensburg
* Behrend took its largest lead in the first frame with 5:48 left on a Mason Blankenberg (Ontario, NY/Wayne) made layup to cap a 7-2 run and grab a 25-17 advantage
* However, the Bobcats stormed back to notch their first lead of the contest with Matthew Marinchak hitting a three-pointer with 2:45 remaining in the first half (28-27)
* Both teams headed into the locker deadlocked at 34 apiece
* The Lions jumped out to an eight-point lead with five minutes into the second half (49-41)
* Pitt-Greensburg came right back with a 6-0 run to force a Behrend timeout
* The score was knotted at 55 with 8:33 remaining thanks to a Jackson Byer three ball
* After the eight-minute mark, both teams went back-and-forth with neither team able to grab more than a two-point advantage
* A Michael Sopko (New Castle, PA/Neshannock) made jumper gave the Lions a 68-65 lead which they would never surrender again with 3:37 left in the contest
* Blankenberg buried a dagger three-pointer from straight away to secure Behrend's first conference win and fourth overall victory of the season
* Saturday's game ended with 12 lead changes and five ties
* For the first time this year, the Lions had five players finish in double-figures
* Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) tallied a team-high 21 points and tied his season-high with seven rebounds
* Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) (16 points), Blankenberg (13 points), Sam Petrarca (Peters Township, PA/Peters Township) (11 points), and Dolan Waldo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) (10 points) also delivered double-digit scoring efforts
* This marked a career-best in points and rebounds for Petrarca, going 5-for-7 from the field with his first collegiate three-pointer and securing a career-high six rebounds off the bench
* McDonough came down with a career-high seven rebounds, while Blankenberg (six) and Waldo (five) also contributed for the Lions on the glass
* Marinchak finished with a game-high 22 points and five rebounds for the Bobcats, while Trent Rozich chipped in 18 points of his own
* Both teams ended Saturday's contest with 30-points apiece in the paint

Up Next:

* The Lions welcome defending AMCC Champions La Roche to the Junker Center on Wednesday, Dec. 11. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.