ERIE, Pa. – In the first ever matchup in program history, the Penn State Behrend men's basketball team opened conference play with a 93-44 victory over the Carlow Celtics in the Junker Center.
Score: Penn State Behrend 93, Carlow 44
Records: Penn State Behrend (5-1), Carlow (2-5)
Key Moments:
* The Lions were fueled in the first half by Tommy DiRienzo's (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) 25 points, shooting 9-14 from the field and 5-9 from three
* DiRienzo accounted for over half of Behrend's points in the first period as they entered halftime with a 46-28 lead
* Behrend continued to pour it on in the second half, thanks to strong shooting from the field
* As a team, the Lions shot 54.5% from the field and 53.3% from three in the final period to record a season-high 93 points
* Freshman Shawn Mason (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) led the way in the second half, tallying 14 of his career-high 17 points off the bench
* From the field, Mason finished 6-8 and was 4-6 from beyond the arc for the best performance in his young career
* Behind DiRienzo's game-high 25 points, RJ Marsh (State College, PA/Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy) chipped in 18 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds
* The final Lion in double-figures was freshman Jake Ziegler (McMurray, PA/Peters Township), who scored his first collegiate points off the bench Wednesday night
* Ziegler notched 10 points on a perfect 4-4 from the field and 2-2 from beyond the arc
* Sophomore Michael Sopko (New Castle, PA/Neshannock) added nine points for Behrend
* DiRienzo collected six rebounds, while Stefan Milinkovic (Fairport, NY/Fairport) pulled down five rebounds and made two steals. Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) also grabbed five rebounds for the Lions
* Byron Gaskins led the way for the Celtics with 13 points, while Nehemiah Brazil added 11 points and a team-high six rebounds
* Behrend registered 41 bench points, 34 points in the paint, and 25 second chance points. Also, the Lions delivered 26 points off 17 Carlow turnovers
Up Next:
* Behrend heads back on the road to Pitt-Greensburg on Saturday, Dec. 2. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m., following the women's game at 2:00 p.m.
