Lions Rally Falls Short at Medaille

BUFFALO, NY –Medaille held off a frantic Penn State Behrend rally to defeat the Lions 70-67 on Wednesday night at the Sullivan Center.

Keith Wallace (Erie, PA/Central Tech) led all scorers with 18 points as Behrend (16-4, 10-3 AMCC) lost for just the second time since December 14.

Ahead by eight with just 2:52 remaining, the Mavericks seemed to have things in order following two Ryan Grandits free throws.

The Lions, however, made one final push beginning with a Casey Courneen (Sewickley, PA/Quaker Valley) three with 2:44 left. Wallace followed with a layup, and suddenly it was back to a one possession game.

But Medaille (9-11, 8-5 AMCC) responded, making three of four foul shots to open up a six point lead.

Then, at the 20 second mark, Shane Skelly (Westlake, OH/Westlake) made a layup to cut the deficit to four. Following a timeout, Behrend forced a turnover. Nick DeLisio (Aliquippa, PA/Central Valley) hit a quick jumper and the Mavericks' lead was down to two with 13 seconds left on the clock.

After a foul, Chris Willingham split a pair of free throws with ten seconds remaining. Wallace grabbed the rebound, but his three-point attempt for the tie at the other end bounced off the rim. Skelly grabbed the ensuing rebound but was unable to convert a desperation three as time expired.

Zane Hackett (Brookville, PA/Brookville) scored 10 points to go along with six rebounds for the Lions, and Courneen and Malquan Pullium (Erie, PA/Strong Vincent) each finished with nine points.

Skelly had a team high seven boards and Wallace grabbed five steals for Behrend, who forced 18 turnovers.

The Lions, though, were only 6-of-14 from the foul line (42.9 percent). Medaille finished 18-of-24 (75.0 percent) from the charity stripe.

Jammal Coleman led the way for the Mavericks with 17 points.

Behrend will travel to Franciscan on Saturday, February 8 at 2 p.m.