PITTSBURGH, Pa. – La Roche men's basketball welcomed Penn State Behrend on Wednesday night and battled to a 77-72 victory over the Lions.

The Redhawks had the hot hand to start, jumping ahead 5-0, but a 10-2 run by Behrend followed, making it 10-7 just under five minutes into the half.

With 11:28 to go, the Lions built the lead up to 16-11 and at the midway point, La Roche was still behind, 19-15.

At 8:35, Behrend built what would be the biggest lead of the half, 21-15, matched with a 28-22 margin with 4:37 to go, but La Roche would outscore the Lions, 6-2 down the final stretch to trail just 30-28 at the break.

Out of the break, the red and black continued to trail in the first four minutes, but a 5-0 run when trailing 39-37, beginning at 15:59, gave the Redhawks a 42-39 edge.

A 5-0 run by Behrend gave it the lead right back and with 9:22 remaining, the deficit for La Roche sat at 52-48.

Over the next three minutes, the Redhawks built their own four-point, 56-52 lead, utilizing an 8-0 run, with the clock reading 6:47.

The red and black would never relinquish the lead from there, as the Lions never came closer than four-points, sealing the victory and the ninth straight win over Behrend.

For the game, the Redhawks finished 28-for-57 (49.1%) from the floor and 6-for-22 (27.3%) from three. From the foul line, they made 15 of 19 attempts (78.9%).

On the other side, the Lions finished 29-for-58 (50%) from the field, 5-for-21 (23.8%) from deep and 9-for-14 (64.3%) from the free-throw stripe.

The Redhawks had three players in double figures, led once again by Bryce Epps, scoring 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting, while adding four rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

Isaiah Thomas followed with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Major Rainey netted 10 points off the bench, alongside seven rebounds.

La Roche returns to the floor on Saturday, Feb. 8 when they welcome Hilbert to the KFC. Opening tip is set for 2 p.m.