Top-seed La Roche College and #2 Penn State Behrend earned semifinal round victories to advance to the AMCC men's basketball championship game. The Redhawks scored an 84-67 win over Hilbert College, as Behrend defeated Medaille College, 79-76 in the second game.
La Roche 84, Hilbert 67
La Roche and Hilbert both came to play on Saturday afternoon, as the semifinal game proved to be a battle in the first half. Redhawk senior forward Arnes Bajgora knocked down a three on the first posession of the game and a Trell Thomas jumper shortly after gave La Roche a quick 5-0 lead. Back-to-back buckets, a layup and a three-pointer, by Hilbert freshman Antonio Alvarez knotted the game at five. The game remained tight throughout the half with both teams exchanging leads. La Roche extended the lead to six on several occasions, but that was the widest the gap would get in the first 20 minutes. The Redhawks took a 33-29 lead into the lockerroom as Thomas had 13 points and Bajgora recorded seven points and four rebounds in the first frame.
The first 13 minutes of the second half mirrored the first, but it was the final seven minutes of the game that determined the outcome. The contest remained close as the second half opened, but it was the Redhawks who held the slight advantage throughout the half. Bagjora, Thomas, and Ray Quan Phifer kept the Redhawks on top, while the hot shooting of Hilbert sophomore guard Masia Phillips kept the Hawks in the game. Two free throws by Phillips at the 8:06 mark tied the game at 56-all, as it looked to be a game that was going down to the last shot. After one knot in the score at 58 with seven minutes to play, it was La Roche who then caught fire and never looked back. Over the next three minutes the Redhawks scored six straight buckets to take a commanding 70-58 lead with 3:25 to play in the game.
Phillips led all scorers with 27 points, while Alvarez added 13 for the Hawks. La Roche got 20 points from Thomas, 18 from Bajgora, and 17 from Ray Quan Phifer. Bajgora also added eight rebounds in the victory.
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Penn St. Behrend 79, Medaille 76
Medaille guard Meghale Ford scored the first bucket of the game just six seconds into the contest. A three-pointer by Behrend junior forward Dan Wanker less than a minute into the game gave the Lions a one point lead, and what would be their only lead of the half. The game remained tight until the 6:52 mark when Medaille's Kirk Hawkins converted on a layup to give the Mavs a 26-17 lead, and another pair by Hawkins a minute later put Medaille up by 11 for their largest lead of the half. At the break, Medaille led 37-30 with senior guard Jalen Smith leading the Mavs with 10 points and three boards. Behrend junior forward Justin Gorny led all scorers in the first half with 12 points and was tied with a game-high four rebounds.
The second half was much more tightly contested, with the game coming down to the final shot. Medaille continued to keep their lead throughout the first eight minutes of the second frame, but Behrend stayed within close range. A made free throw by Gorny at the 12:10 mark put Behrend up by one, their first lead since the first minute of the game. The lead changed hands several more times, until the 4:33 mark when Behrend was down by six and junior guard Andy Niland took the game into his own hands. Niland drained four three-pointers in the next two minutes to put Behrend up by four, 75-71 with 2:20 to play. A Hollenbeck three with :33 to go brought the Mavs within one, but they would never get closer than that.
Gorny led all scorers with 28 points for Behrend, while Niland added 17 and Wanker chipped in with 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Hollenbeck led the Mavs with 26 points and six rebounds.
La Roche and Penn St. Behrend will tip-off tomorrow at 1pm on the La Roche campus for the AMCC championship. The winner will earn the AMCC's automatic bid to the NCAA championship tournament.