DiRienzo’s 32 Points Propels Behrend Past Baldwin Wallace In Overtime

BEREA, Ohio – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team notched an 80-69 overtime win at Baldwin Wallace Tuesday night.

Score: Penn State Behrend 80, Baldwin Wallace 69

Records: Penn State Behrend (4-0), Carnegie Mellon (1-3)

Key Moments:

* This was the first road contest of the season for Behrend as they started the season with three straight home games
* The Lions found themselves down 39-24 after the first 20 minutes of play, however Behrend would roar back in the second half
* Behrend outscored Baldwin Wallace 45-30 in the second half, shooting 54.5 percent in the period to force overtime with the score knotted at 69 apiece
* The Lions did not allow the Yellow Jackets to score in the overtime frame, outscoring them 11-0 to secure the victory
* Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) led all scorers with 32 points to go along with 11 rebounds. This is the second double-double of the season for DiRienzo
* DiRienzo scored 17 of his 32 points in the second half, while Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) delivered 14 of his 18 points in the second period to help the Lions force the extra period. McDonough added a team-high three steals in Tuesday's contest
* This marks the fourth 30-point game for DiRienzo in his career as he tallied three 30-point games last season. He scored a career-high 35 points against Pitt-Greensburg last season, which was the last time he notched 30 or more points
* Michael Sopko (New Castle, PA / Neshannock) recorded double-figures for the second time this year, registering 11 points and three rebounds
* On the glass, RJ Marsh (State College, PA/Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy) once again tallied double-digit rebounds, pulling down 10 boards. He has collected 10 or more rebounds in all four game games to start the year
* Baldwin Wallace was led by Ray Ellington's 20 points and 12 rebounds. Titus Baskerville IV dished out game-high five assists
* As a team, Behrend capitalized on the Yellow Jackets 16 turnovers, scoring 20 points off the takeaways
* The Lions also edged Baldwin Wallace in second chance points (15-12) points in the paint (42-34)
* Behrend has started out the new campaign 4-0, the last time the Lions began the year with four straight win was during the 2015-16 season

Up Next:

* Behrend remains on the road with a matchup at Allegheny on Saturday, Nov. 25. Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m.