Lions Advance to AMCC Title Game

ERIE, Pa. - - Nick DeLisio (Aliquippa, PA/Central Valley) picked a great time to have a career night.

The junior scored a personal best 26 points to lead the Penn State Behrend men's basketball team to an 87-71 win over Pitt-Bradford in Friday's Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Tournament Semifinals at the Junker Center.

The victory means that the Lions (22-4, 15-3 AMCC) will play in the AMCC Championship game for the second straight year.

Malquan Pullium (Erie, PA/Strong Vincent) also had a career night in his first postseason collegiate game. The freshman scored 16 points and finished 3-of-5 from deep.

DeLisio and the Lions came out of the gate red hot. The junior hit his first four shots and scored 16 in the first half. As a team, Behrend shot a scorching 61.8 percent from the field in the opening period, including 7-of-12 from three-point range.

After the Panthers' Keith Burgess scored the opening bucket of the contest, the Lions went on a 14-1 run to grab an eleven point lead. Pitt-Bradford never got Behrend's lead back to single digits.

The Lions led by as many as 26 in the first half following a three-point play by Casey Courneen (Sewickley, PA/Quaker Valley) with 26 seconds remaining. Behrend eventually took a 24 point advantage into the locker room.

Although the Panthers clamped down defensively after the break, they were unable to make much headway. Bradford wasn't able to get the deficit under 20 until the 2:08 mark, and by then it was too late.

The Lions dominated the painted area again, outscoring the Panthers 38-26 underneath. Shane Skelly (Westlake, OH/Westlake) scored 13 points and led Behrend with 6 rebounds, and Mike Knoll (Erie, PA/Cathedral Prep) scored 10 with five boards.

The Lions have now won six in a row and 17 out of their last 19 games.

In what is their sixth time as hosts, Behrend improves to 19-12 all-time in the AMCC Tournament. The Lions have won the conference title four times previously, including 2012-13.

Behrend defeated Medaille 63-60 in last season's championship game.

The Lions will take on Hilbert in the 2014 AMCC Championship on Saturday, March 1 at the Junker Center. Behrend defeated the Hawks twice during the regular season, including an 87-58 victory on February 19.

Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.