McDonough’s Season-High Propels Behrend Past Fredonia, 79-51

FREDONIA, N.Y. – Four Penn State Behrend men's basketball players scored in double-figures to help the team earn a 79-51 victory over Fredonia Saturday afternoon.

Score: Penn State Behrend 79, Fredonia 51
Records: Penn State Behrend (5-4), Fredonia (1-7)

Key Moments:

* The Lions and Blue Devils were knotted at six apiece four minutes into Saturday's contest until Behrend proceeded to go on a 7-0 run in the next two minutes
* Behrend continued to push its lead throughout the first half, taking its biggest lead of the frame of 14 points on a made layup by Sam Petrarca (Peters Township, PA/Peters Township) with six seconds remaining in the half (40-26)
* Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) and Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) each tallied 10 first half points with Petrarca recording nine points and five rebounds in the first 45 minutes
* The Lions extended its lead to 15 in the second half with a driving layup from Nate Edwards (Girard, PA/Girard) with 14:22 on the clock
* After the Edwards layup, Behrend went on a 5-0 run in the next two minutes that was capped off by a pair of free throws by Mason Blankenberg (Ontario, NY/Wayne)
* Freshman Tyson Totten (Pembroke, NY/Pembroke) delivered his second collegiate basket with 28 seconds left in the contest to give Behrend a 28-point advantage and secure its fifth win of the season
* McDonough led all scorers with a season-high 28 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field, 4-for-5 from three, and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. He was three points shy of tying his career high
* The third-year guard has registered double-figures in all nine of the Lions' games this year
* Petrarca finished one rebound short of a double-double, tying his career high with 11 points and coming down with a career-best nine rebounds
* Other Lions to score in double-digits were DiRienzo (11 points) and Edwards (10 points). Edwards also notched a career-high seven assists and two steals, while DiRienzo had a team-high three blocks
* On the glass, Blankenberg (seven rebounds) and Michael Sopko (New Castle, PA/Neshannock) (five rebounds) were both very active
* Brandon Kulakowski was the high scorer for Fredonia with 14 points. Kai Woods grabbed a team-high six rebounds to go along with six points
* Behrend outscored the Blue Devils in fastbreak points (10-8), points off turnover (12-5), points in the paint (30-24), and second chance points (9-8). The Lions also won the rebounding battle with 34 total rebounds to Fredonia's 25
* As a team, the Lions finished 27-for-52 (51.9 percent) from the field and 16-for-18 (88.9 percent) from the free throw line

Up Next:

* Behrend will head to Rochester, NY to compete in the St. John Fisher Tournament on Sunday, Dec. 29 and Monday, Dec. 30. The Lions will take on the host Cardinals at 4 p.m. on Sunday and then battle Canton on Monday at 4 p.m.