Behrend Proves Too Much for Mount Aloysius

ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team earned a dominant 86-57 victory over Mount Aloysius Saturday afternoon in the Junker Center.

Score: Penn State Behrend 86, Mount Aloysius 57
Records: Penn State Behrend (11-9­, 6-5 AMCC), Mount Aloysius (5-15, 3-8 AMCC)

Key Moments:

* Most of the first half was back-and-forth between both teams with five ties and one lead change
* However, the Lions would take a 29-26 lead, thanks to a Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) three-pointer with 5:22 remaining in the half and would never look back
* Since DiRienzo's triple, Behrend went on a 13-7 run to take a 42-33 advantage into the locker room
* DiRienzo and Nate Edwards (Girard, PA/Girard) both registered 11 first half points, while De'Von Haggans had 11 points for the Mounties
* Mount Aloysius made a push to start the second half, coming within one point (48-47) on two straight baskets from Troy Tinch
* From the 13:23 mark in the second half, the Lions would go on a 33-3 run in the next 11 minutes, grabbing a 30-point advantage (84-54) with 2:38 left in the contest
* Behrend's defense held the Mounties to only nine points in the final 13 minutes en route to their sixth conference and 11^th overall win of the season
* DiRienzo scored a game-high 25 points on 11-for-15 shooting from the field and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc to go along with seven rebounds and two steals. He now moves into third on the all-time scoring list in program history with 1,700 career points, passing Kevin Buczynski's (2004-08) 1,689 career points
* Edwards tied his career-high of 16 points, while Dolan Waldo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) finished one rebound shy of a double-double, tallying 14 points and a career-best nine rebounds and three assists
* Junior Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) was the final Lion to deliver double-figures (12 points)
* McDonough is now 22 points away from 1,000 career points
* Haggans (14 points), Will Hagwood (11 points), and Tinch (10 points) all claimed double-figures for Mount Aloysius. Tinch also pulled down a team-high six rebounds
* As a team, Behrend outshot the Mounties, 52.5 percent compared to 39.6 percent
* The Lions notched 46 points in the paint, 25 points off turnovers, and 17 second chance points in Saturday's contest

Up Next:

* Behrend is back on the road at La Roche on Wednesday, Feb. 5. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.