Lions Meet Panthers In AMCC Men’s Basketball Game of the Week

ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team competes for the first time in the Junker Center in 2025 on Saturday, Jan. 11, taking on Pitt-Bradford at 2 p.m. This contest is the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Game of the Week.

Coverage:

Video | Live Stats | Game Notes

Behrend News & Notes:

* The Lions were narrowly defeated by Penn State Altoona, 78-76, on Wednesday
* Junior Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) finished with a game-high 25 points on 8-for-17 shooting from the field and 6-for-8 from the line. He scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half against Altoona
* Other Behrend Lions to deliver double-figures on Wednesday were Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) (18 points) and Nate Edwards (Girard, PA/Girard) (12 points)
* Off the bench, Isaac DeGregorio (Allison Park, PA/North Catholic) tallied eight points, while Michael Sopko (New Castle, PA/Neshannock) registered six points to go along with eight rebounds for Behrend
* DiRienzo leads the team and is currently seventh in the AMCC in scoring with 17.7 points per game
* McDonough tallies 15.5 points per game for second on the team, while Mason Blankenberg (Ontario, NY/Wayne) (9.8 ppg) sits third on the Lions
* On the glass, DiRienzo collects a team-high 5.2 rebounds per game, followed by Blankenberg's 5.1 rebounds per game
* McDonough dishes out a team-leading 2.3 assists per game
* As a team, Behrend stands second in the conference in free throw percentage (74.5) and third in three-point percentage (35.0)

Meet the Opposition:

* Pitt-Bradford comes into Saturday's contest atop the AMCC with a 4-0 conference record and an 11-1 overall record
* The Panthers defeated Carlow by a score of 124-101 this past Wednesday
* Five players reached double-figures against the Celtics with Jeremy Rodriguez leading the way off the bench with 23 points
* Guard Jamarion Butler, a 2023 All-AMCC First Team selection, is first in the conference in scoring (22.8 ppg), second in steals (2.7 spg), and sixth in rebounding (7.1 rbg)
* Butler has amassed 30-plus points in four contest so far this season
* Along with Butler, four other players register double-figures: Braylen Salters (18.2 ppg), Rodriguez (13.3 ppg), Rodd Yarbrough (12.0 ppg), and Jesse Laster (11.2 ppg)
* Salters leads the AMCC with 3.2 steals per game, while Xander Norris (46.2 percent) and Coby Farley (44.4 percent) are first in the conference in three point percentage. Also, Yarbrough is currently second in field goal percentage (59.8)
* As a team, Pitt-Bradford is third in the national rankings in scoring offense (107.8 ppg) and turnover forced per game (24.5). Also, the Panthers rank fourth in Division III in steals per game (15.4). Pitt-Bradford has scored 100-plus points in 10 of 12 games played
* The Panthers were chosen to finish fourth in the 2024-25 Preseason Coaches' Poll. Butler and Laster were named Preseason Players to Watch
* Head coach Jesse DeLoof is in his fifth season at the helm of the men's basketball program

Series History:

* Behrend leads the all-time series 39-7, dating back to 2002-03
* The Lions have won seven of the last eight matchups against the Panthers with the teams splitting the series last season