Men's Basketball Heads To Championship Game After Wire-To-Wire Win Over Pioneers

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team took down Alfred State, 73-65, in the AMCC Semifinals Friday night.

Score: Penn State Behrend 73, Alfred State 65
Records: Penn State Behrend (20-6), Alfred State (15-12)

Key Moments:

* Alfred State jumped out to a fast start, taking a 14-6 lead in the first five minutes of Friday's contest
* The Lions would go on a run of their own, grabbing their first lead (23-21) with 8:45 remaining in the first half
* The Pioneers controlled a 42-36 advantage heading into halftime
* Both teams went back-and-forth in the second half with neither squad holding more than a five-point lead in the first eight minutes of the second half
* A Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) three-point play gave Behrend a six-point advantage (67-61) with three minutes remaining; however, Alfred State would not go away cutting its deficit to only two (67-65) with 1:43 on the clock
* A pair of made layups from DiRienzo and Mason Blankenberg (Ontario, NY/Wayne) along with a few defensive stops sealed the Lions victory and earned them a chance to play for an AMCC Championship tomorrow
* DiRienzo recorded his fifth double-double of the season, finishing with a game-high 24 points and tying his career-high in rebounds with 14
* Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) (18 points) and Blankenberg (10 points) also tallied double-figures for the Lions. On the defensive end, McDonough registered two steals
* On the glass, RJ Marsh (State College, PA/Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy) and Michael Sopko (New Castle, PA/Neshannock) each grabbed eight and seven rebounds, respectively, while Marsh had two takeaways
* The Pioneers were led by Cody Schneider's 19 points and 14 rebounds. Dylan Perry (13 points) and Paris Jamison (12 points) also delivered double-figures for Alfred State
* As a team, Behrend outrebounded Alfred State (37-26) and outscored the Pioneers in second chance points (17-12)

Up Next:

* The Lions will play for the AMCC Championship tomorrow against the hosts La Roche at 5 p.m. Behrend is looking to win its seventh conference title in program history and first since 2018-19.