In first round men's basketball action, #3 Medaille College picked up a 78-58 victory over #6 Mount Aloysius College, while #5 Hilbert College earned the upset victory ove #4 Penn State Altoona 77-72.
Medaille 78, Mount Aloysius 58
The Mavs built a lead early in the first half, as they led Mount Aloysius by a score of 19-11 at the ten minute mark. The Medaille defense was stifling, forcing the Mounties to commit four turnovers early. With two minutes to play in the half Mount Aloysius got the score back to 26-21. However, Medaille sophomore guard Brandon Roach put an end to their run as he hit a big three pointer to put the Mavs back up by eight 29-21. Medaille carried a 32-23 lead at the end of the half.
Medaille came out strong in the second half, as they built a 57-41 lead mid-way through the half courtesy of some hot shooting and solid defense. Senior guard Jalen Smith led the team with 21 points and also contributed three assists. Sophomore guard Kirk Hawkins finished the game with 13 points, three rebounds, and four assists. The Mavs were led on the boards by forwards Cedric Mondjii and Jonathan Smith who had seven and five rebounds respectively.
With the win Medaille advances to the second round of the playoffs and will face Penn-State Behrend this Saturday, February 24th, at 3:30 PM.
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Hilbert 77, Penn State Altoona 72
For the second year in a row, the #5 Hilbert College men's basketball team battled #4 Penn State Altoona in a First Round game of the AMCC playoffs. This year, the Hawks clawed their way back from a 10-point deficit and captured a 77-72 road win over the Lions.
Altoona started the game with a dunk just seconds after the tip and jumped out to a 6-0 lead before senior G/F David Arlaud got the Hawks on the scoreboard. The Lions stretched their hold to seven (10-3) before Hilbert picked up their offense. Six minutes into the game, Hilbert took their first lead (15-14) after scoring seven unanswered points. Phillips found a lane in the paint and then Hilbert hit back-to-back threes. Antonio Alvarez knocked down his long distance shot first, grabbed a defensive rebound and then fed Phillips who stopped and popped in transition. Both teams offensive production mirrored each other but the Lions kept play in their offensive end longer as they lived on the offensive glass. The score continued to go back-and-forth until both teams entered the locker rooms with a 37-37 half time score.
Altoona looked in control early at the start of the second half but Hilbert battled back and knotted the game on several occasions in the first six minutes. Altoona matched their largest lead of the game (58-51) and then extended the spread to 10 points on multiple occasions.
Arlaud started the come-back at 5:01 when he converted both free throws slicing into the eight point deficit. Sophomore guard Hunter Martineau struck from downtown pulling Hilbert within five at 3:02. After forcing the Lions to a missed shot just before they were whistled for a shot-clock violation, Martineau came-up with a defensive rebound and scored in transition setting a 70-67 score. Altoona turned the ball over on their next possession and Arlaud muscled his way in for an offensive rebound which found its way to Phillips at the weak block for an easy score in the paint at 1:45. (70-69) Phillips, who was immediately fouled after he came down with his sixth defensive rebound, went to the other end of the floor for a double bonus visit at foul line. He lifted Hilbert on top for the first time in the second half. The score continued to go back-and-forth throughout the final minutes of the game. With 0:07.6 on the clock, Phillips went to the line for the final time of the night. His first attempt touched every side of the round rim and dropped in while the second shot hit nothing but net. Altoona's final shot was off and Hilbert's big rally for the win paid off.
Phillips earned game-high honors with 22 points (9-of-12 at the foul line) and pulled down nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Hunter Martineau added 16 points, nine boards and added four assists and two steals.
Hilbert, who now advances to the AMCC championship weekend for the program's sixth time in the last seven years, will face the hosts, #1 La Roche College Saturday, February 24 in a 1pm game at the Kerr Fitness Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.