Lions Trump Hunter in Steel Club Classic Consolation Game; DiRienzo Named To All-Tournament Team

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Penn State Behrend men's basketball earned a 77-65 victory over Hunter in the consolation game of the Steel Club Classic hosted by Moravian.

Score: Penn State Behrend 77, Hunter 65

Key Moments:

* Hunter took an 8-3 advantage to start Saturday's contest; however, the Lions would get into an offensive rhythm, going on a 10-0 run to take a 13-8 lead with 13 minutes left in the first half
* Behrend secured a 41-37 lead heading into halftime, behind 13 and 12 first half points from Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) and Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny)
* The Hawks opened the second half with a three-pointer to cut their deficit to one (41-40)
* Hunter continued to hang around in the final period as the Lions would attempt to pull away, getting up by as many as seven points and the Hawks trimming the lead to three points
* A pair of three-pointers from McDonough and Mason Blankenberg (Ontario, NY/Wayne) notched Behrend a nine-point advantage (64-55) with 5:27 left in the contest
* The Lions pushed their lead to 15 in the final minutes of the game to secure their seventh triumph of the season
* DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) tallied team-high 24 points, while pulling down six rebounds to earn a spot on the Steel Club Classic All-Tournament Team
* This marked the fifth game this year that DiRienzo registered 20 or more points
* McDonough finished with 17 points, while RJ Marsh (State College, PA/Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy) led Behrend on the glass with nine rebounds to go along with 13 points and four steals
* Off the bench, Blankenberg chipped in seven points and five rebounds
* For the Hawks, Kareem McDonald recorded a game-high 25 points. Forward Luka Jakic delivered a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds
* As a team, Behrend scored 26 points off 18 Hunter turnovers and outscored the Hawks in fastbreak points (13-4) and bench points (13-6)