Lions Earn NCAA Tournament Bid
The Penn State Behrend men’s basketball team earned the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the conference championship on Saturday. The Lions (20-8) will travel to Wooster this Saturday for the first-round game, announced on Monday.
NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Bracket
ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team earned the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference's (AMCC) automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the conference championship on Saturday. The Lions (20-8) will travel to Wooster, Ohio this Saturday for the first-round game, announced on Monday.
Behrend is coming off four straight wins, three of which were in the AMCC Tournament. The Lions defeated Pitt-Bradford 63-42 in the first round. Behrend then knocked off No. 2 seed La Roche 55-48 in the semifinals before beating Medaille 63-60 in the championship game.
Senior Russ Conley (Transfer, PA/Reynolds) has led the Lions all season. On the year, the center has averaged an AMCC-best 19.6 points to go with a team-leading 8.1 rebounds per game. Two other seniors have been vital to Behrend's success this year. Pat St. Andrews (State College, PA/State College) and Adam Palcic (Greensburg, PA/Greensburg Central Catholic) have started all 28 games this year. St. Andrews leads the team in minutes played per game (33.4) with Palcic close behind (33.2). The duo ranks third and fourth in the AMCC in minutes played, respectively.
The Lions will take on No. 20 Wooster fell to Ohio Wesleyan 76-66 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament Championship. The Fighting Scots (23-5) are hosting a game in the national tourney for the fourth consecutive season.
Behrend holds a 2-0 all-time series advantage, but the two schools have not met since the 1986-87 season.
The first-round game will take place at Wooster's Timken Gymnasium on Saturday at 7 p.m.