Hawks Edge Lions In Final Minutes

ERIE, Pa. - The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team fell to Hartwick, 57-54 in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon.

Down by three with two seconds to play, Russ Conley's (Transfer, PA/Reynolds) three point attempt fell just short, giving the Hawks their fifth straight win.

The Lions (0-4) came out strong, holding a lead for all but 20 seconds in the first half.  Conley and Shane Skelly (Westlake, OH/Westlake) dominated down low, helping Behrend to a 34-27 first half lead.  Both big men had eight points with freshman Evan Eaton (Mt. Lebanon, PA/Mt. Lebanon) chipping in nine first half points.

With the second half underway, the Lions and Hartwick traded baskets for the first five minutes. It wasn't until the 13:37 mark that Behrend was able to gain control again.  Pat St. Andrews (State College, PA/State College) hit a three followed by a tip in by Conley and the Lions were up by eight.  

The Behrend offense went cold though.  The Lions would go over seven minutes without a point while the Hawks would go on a 10-0 run to take a four point lead.  

With 3:04 to play, St. Andrews drove to the hole and banked in a layup to cut the lead in half. After Hartwick hit a jumper, St. Andrews drove to the hole again to net the bucket and the free-throw after the foul.  

With 11 seconds left to play, the Behrend defense turned up the heat and forced their second shot clock violation in the final two minutes.  The Lions three-point attempt fell short, forcing Behrend to foul.  Jared Suderley hit two clutch free-throws to push the Hawks advantage to three.  The final three-point shot at the buzzer fell just short, securing the victory for Hartwick.

Conley led the Lions with 16 points while Skelly contributed 10.  St. Andrews also put up double figures, scoring 10.

Behrend will be back in action on Wednesday for their Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opener.  The Lions will host Medaille at 6 p.m.