With a 13-1 conference mark, La Roche University claimed the regular season championship and hosting rights to the 2023 AMCC men's basketball championship tournament. First round games tip off Tuesday evening with #3 Hilbert College hosting #6 Pitt-Bradford and #4 Pitt-Greensburg hosting #5 Penn State Behrend. #1 La Roche and #2 Penn State Altoona will each receive first round byes. Tournament semifinals will take place on Friday afternoon with the championship game set for Saturday at 1pm.
La Roche enters the tournament looking for their third conference title in the past five seasons. Senior guard Devon Darrell leads the AMCC in scoring during conference play, averaging 21.4 points per game against AMCC opponents. His 106 assists overall, and 62 in conference play, also both top the league. Junior guard/forward Joe Pipilo averages 13.2 points per game and 5.8 rebounds on the season, while his 57 made three-pointers are third-best in the conference. Senior guard/forward Jordan Grayson adds 10.4 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game. He ranks fourth in the AMCC with 30 blocks and 55 made three-pointers on the season.
With a 12-2 record in conference play, Penn State Altoona has earned the No. 2 seed. The Lions boast a balanced attack on offense with six players averaging double figures. Senior guard Saivon Word averages 14.3 points per game, while his 54 steals on the season rank him first in the league and his 95 assists are second-best. Sophomore C PJ Charles averages 12.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Senior guard/forward Andruw Harman adds 12.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, while his 37 blocks rank third in the AMCC, his 80 assists and 44 steals are fourth-best in the league. Junior forward Mason Bush has been hot from long range all season, knocking down 47 three-pointers this year and averaging 11.8 points per game.
Hilbert enters the tournament with a 9-5 record and the No. 3 seed. Sophomore guard Quran Briggs leads the Hawk offense, and ranks fifth in the conference with 18.3 points per game. Sophomore forward Edward Perez adds 12.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game along with 19 blocks on the season. Also averaging double figures for the Hawks are Nevada Eldridge (10.6 ppg) and Shaheem Ellis (10.2 ppg).
Pitt-Greensburg, with a 8-6 conference mark, enters as the No. 4 seed. Senior guard Jojo France ranks second in the AMCC with 19.7 points per game. France has knocked down an AMCC-best 65 shots from long-range this season. He's also dished out 60 assists and recorded 36 steals on the season. Junior F Reggie Priah adds 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game for the Bobcats.
Coming in at 5-9 is No. 5 Penn State Behrend. Leading the Behrend offense is junior G Tommy DiRienzo who averages 16.3 points, while also contributing 5.8 rebounds per game along with 40 assists and 27 steals on the season. Matthew McDonough adds 9.8 points per game and RJ Marsh grabs a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game to go along with 8.7 points per game.
Rounding out the field with a 5-9 record is No. 6 Pitt-Bradford. The Panthers are led by Nathan Schneider's 22.3 points per game, which also tops the AMCC leaderboard. Schneider also hauls in 8.3 rebounds per game, good for second in the conference. Scnheider ranks at the top of the league in free throws made (139), defensive rebounds (169), and total rebounds (208). He ranks second in field goal percentage (57.1) while his 48 steals and 92 assists are both third-best in the AMCC this year. Also averaging double figures for the Panthers are Phillip Wallace (12.0 ppg) and Jeremy Rodriguez (10.5 ppg).
AMCC Tournament Schedule
First Round: Tuesday, February 21
7:00pm: #6 Pitt-Bradford at #3 Hilbert
6:00pm: #5 Penn State Behrend at #4 Pitt-Greensburg
Byes: #1 La Roche & #2 Penn State Altoona
Championship Round at #1 La Roche
Semifinals: Friday, February 24
12:00pm: #1 La Roche v. winner of 5v4
2:30pm: #2 Penn State Altoona vs. winner of 6v3
Finals: Saturday, February 25 - 1pm