Medaille College will take on defending champion La Roche University at 3p Sunday for bragging rights as AMCC men’s basketball champions of 2022.
The fourth seeded Mavericks advanced with a 70-63 upset of host Penn State Behrend. The top seeded Lions looked like they were cruising to a comfortable first half lead as the Mavericks could not find a scoring rhythm. But they found their range in a late run and a three pointer with seconds remaining in the half cut Behrend’s lead to just one heading into the locker room.
The second half saw the Mavs come out flying and surge to an eight point lead, only to see the Lions chip away to knot the game at 60 with under four minutes to go. With less than two minutes remaining, a three pointer by Rodney Graves as the shot clock expired put Medaille up to stay.
Graves had a standout night, putting up 23 points to go with nine boards and five assists. Kendall McGill’s 13 points and three steals was a difference-maker at the defensive end of the court.
Behrend leading scorer Kenny Fukon was held to just five first half points but came on in the second half to finish with 24 points, 11 boards and four assists. Teammate PJ Gourley recorded 19 points and eight rebounds.
The #3 seed La Roche won handily, 95-63. They showed their mettle in the first half, crafting a nine point lead through the first 17 minutes, out-rebounding Altoona and causing 12 turnovers. Devon Darrell fueled the Redhawks with 20 points through the first 20 minutes to lead all scorers and pace his team to a five point lead.
The second stanza was all La Roche as they built a 20 point cushion by the halfway mark and finished with a 32 point margin. The Redhawks were an offensive juggernaut, particularly from outside the arc where they buried 17 of 33 attempts. Defensively they dominated the boards, 43-30, and forced 17 turnovers.
Darrell finished as the high point scorer for La Roche, recording 24 points, 7 assists and 4 steals. Joe Pipilo chipped in 22 points while Jordan Grayson scored 16, including 4 from long range.
Saivon Word was the Lions' top scorer with 13 points, while Andruw Harman and PJ Charles added 10 each.
Both La Roche and Medaille own four AMCC titles. The Redhawks earned their most recent in 2020 while Medaille last won in 2017.
The winner will receive the AMCC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.