The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team defeated Alfred 78-57 Wednesday night and Medaille College was victorious over Westminster College, 74-72, as both teams advanced to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Quarterfinals. Penn State Altoona dropped a 71-66 decision to Bethany College to bring a close to their 2017-18 campaign.
The Lions' (21-7) second-half performance helped get them back on the winning track to taking down the Saxons (18-9). Junior forward Dan Wanker led the way with 17 points and 12 rebounds, posting his second double-double of the season. Justin Gorny and Mike Fischer each registered 16 points in the game. Gorny shot 5-of-8 from the field while also pulling down five boards. Fischer recorded a 70 percent field-goal percentage in the contest, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished out three helpers. Junior guard Andy Niland also scored in double-figures for the Lions. He tallied 15 points and notched a game-high six assists.
After an evenly played first half, the game was up for grabs. Buckets were exchanged by both teams the entire first half. It wasn't until the final 2:22 of the half where Behrend edged Alfred 7-4 to bring the score to 41-37 in favor of the Lions.
The second half is where things began to change. Behrend opened the half on a 20-9 run that helped generate a 13 point advantage. From there, Behrend took control of the game, topping out at a 21-point lead, and ending the final score 78-57.
Behrend advances to the ECAC quarterfinals on Friday, where travel to and face off against the No. 2 seed, and tournament host, Wilkes University. Game time is set for 5 p.m.
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Medaille and Westminster had an even-matched and hard-fought first half, as both teams headed into the break with the game knotted up at 39. Both teams shot better from three than they did from the floor in the opening frame. The Mavs hit on 50-percent of their three point attempts in the opening 20 minutes, while Westminster hit for a very respectable 40-percent themselves.
Neither team was particularly sharp coming out of the locker room, with Westminster hitting the only field goal in the opening three minutes of the second half.
Both teams continued to fight hard and once again exchanged baskets throughout the half. As the game got tighter and the clock wound down, the Mavs once again turned to the three ball. But as it often does in the postseason, the final moments came down to pure will. Westminster thought their will sent the game to overtime with 15 seconds to go when Austin Armwood hit a three to tie the game after three offensive rebounds and a mad scramble in the paint.
The Titans called a timeout with 15 seconds and that gave the Mavs just enough time to take the game back. Medaille guard Meghale Ford took the inbound coast-to-coast right to the tin, finishing through contact and laying in the game winning shot with just four ticks to go. Ford sealed the win with a steal at the buzzer, as Medaille lives to play another day in the ECAC Quarterfinals.
Four Mavericks earned double-digit points with senior forward Mike Hollenbeck leading the way 20 points on 9-17 shooting. Senior guard Jalen Smith finished the game with 18 points on six triples, while Kirk Hawkins (10) and Ford (12) saved their heroics for the second half.
The win improves Medaille to 18-10 overall as they will now face Bethany College in the Quarterfinals of the ECAC DIII Men's Basketball Championship Tournament on Friday at 2:00 pm on the campus of Wilkes University.
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Penn State Altoona worked its way to a 34-28 halftime lead. But inconsistency plagued the Lions throughout the game, and it caught up with them in the second half, when Bethany jumped ahead and the Lions were unable to answer adequately.
Despite the loss, Penn State Altoona men's basketball posted one of the most successful seasons of any varsity sport at the campus in the NCAA Division III era of the Athletics program. The Lions' 17 wins this season were a program record, and the squad qualified for both the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference and ECAC Tournaments for the second year in a row. Headlining the individual accomplishments of the players was this week's selection of Nance as the AMCC Player of the Year, the first such honor bestowed on a men's basketball player in Lions history.
Senior Ishimeal Nance led Penn State Altoona in scoring with 20 points to go along with six rebounds. Dequan Jackson added 12 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Rich Bouknight scored seven points while finishing with two boards, two assists, two steals, and a block.