Behrend Hands Pitt-Bradford First Conference Loss

BRADFORD, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team went on the road and handed No. 4 in NCAA Region VII Pitt-Bradford its first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) loss of the season, 69-62, Saturday afternoon.

Score: Penn State Behrend 69, Pitt-Bradford 62
Records: Penn State Behrend (13-11­, 8-7 AMCC), Pitt-Bradford (20-2, 13-1 AMCC)

Key Moments:

* The first nine minutes of Saturday's contest were back-and-forth with neither team able to grab more than a three-point lead
* A James Wesling (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) three-pointer sparked a 15-9 run for the Lions and they ended the half with a 10-point advantage (37-27)
* Pitt-Bradford went on a 14-3 run seven minutes into the second half to cut its deficit to one (41-40)
* The Panthers eventually knotted the score at 48 apiece with 8:07 remaining
* Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) converted a three-point play and a pair of free throws with two minutes left to give Behrend a six-point lead (62-56)
* The Lions would force some stops down the stretch to secure their eighth conference victory of the season
* McDonough finished with a game-high 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting from the field
* Mason Blankenberg (Ontario, NY/Wayne) (15 points) and Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) (13 points) were the other Lions to record double-figures
* Freshman Nate Edwards (Girard, PA/Girard) pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds to go along with five assists
* Jamarion Butler tallied a double-double (17 points/11 rebounds) for the Panthers, while Jeremy Rodriguez and Xander Norris scored 15 and 10 points off the bench
* As a team, Behrend outrebounded Pitt-Bradford (40-34) and outscored the Panthers in the paint (36-30)
* Coming into the day, Pitt-Bradford ranked third in Division III in scoring offense (108.7 ppg) and Behrend's defense held the Panthers to a season-low 62 points on 37.9 percent from the field and 27.6 percent from three
* All-in-all, Saturday's contest saw 14 ties and 10 lead changes

Up Next:

* Behrend returns home for its regular-season finale against Alfred St. on Wednesday, Feb. 19. It is senior night and tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. in the Junker Center