Men’s Basketball Welcomes Hilbert To The Junker Center Wednesday

ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team continues its three-game homestand with a matchup against Hilbert on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.

Coverage:

Video | Live Stats | Game Notes

Behrend News & Notes:

* The Lions fell to Pitt-Bradford, 85-81, this past Saturday in the AMCC Game of the Week
* Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) registered a game-high 34 points on 11-for-16 shooting from the field and 11-for-13 from the free-throw line, while also grabbing seven rebounds
* This marks DiRienzo third game this season and 10th of his career with 30 or more points
* Junior Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) was the other Lion to notch double-figures, finishing with 17 points and five rebounds against the Panthers
* DiRienzo leads the team and is currently fourth in the AMCC in scoring with 18.9 points per game
* McDonough notches 15.6 points per game for second on the team and 10^th in the conference, while Mason Blankenberg (Ontario, NY/Wayne) (9.7 ppg) sits third on the Lions
* On the glass, DiRienzo collects a team-high 5.4 rebounds per game, followed by Blankenberg's 5.3 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 (75.2) and third in three-point percentage (34.4)

Meet the Opposition:

* Hilbert is currently third in the AMCC standings with a 3-3 conference record and 10-5 overall record
* The Hawks dropped their last contest against La Roche on Saturday by a score of 80-60
* Larry Morse (15 points) and Nathan Moore (15 points) each tallied double-figures against the Redhawks
* Senior Shaheem Ellis is first on the team and sixth in the AMCC in scoring with 17.9 points. He also leads the team and the conference with 4.7 assists per game
* Morse (16.3 ppg) and Quran Briggs (15.9 ppg) also recorded double-digit scoring for the Hawks, while Morse has collected a conference-high 9.8 rebounds per game. Morse stands second in the AMCC rankings in field-goal percentage (60.2)
* As a team, Hilbert is first in the conference in three-point percentage (39.4) and third in rebounds per game (38.2), assists per game (15.8), and points per game (81.0)
* The Hawks were selected to finish fifth in the 2024-25 Preseason Coaches' Poll. Briggs and guard Justin Poumpey were named Preseason Players to Watch
* Head coach Rob deGrandpre is in his 22^nd season at the helm of the men's basketball program

Series History:

* Behrend leads the all-time series 40-11, dating back to 1992
* The Lions have won three of the last four matchups against the Hawks, including both contests last season