McDonough’s 28 Points Leads Behrend Men’s Basketball Past Mount Aloysius

ERIE, Pa. – Sophomore guard Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) scored a season-high 28 points to help lead the Penn State Behrend men's basketball to victory over Mount Aloysius Saturday afternoon.

Score: Penn State Behrend 88, Mount Aloysius 59

Records: Penn State Behrend (6-3, 2-2 AMCC), Mount Aloysius (2-7, 1-3 AMCC)

Key Moments:

* McDonough tallied 19 of his 28 points in the first half. He finished 9-16 from the field and 6-11 from beyond the arc, while going a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line
* The second year guard was three points shy of tying his career-high of 31 points, which he set last season against Pitt-Bradford
* Behrend controlled a 42-33 advantage going in to halftime, outscoring the Mounties 24-16 in the paint
* A McDonough three-pointer and four made free throws from Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) would put the Lions up 24 (76-52) with seven minutes remaining in the game
* Both teams would clear the benches with three minutes left as Behrend picked up its second conference win of the season
* Along with McDonough's 28 points, DiRienzo finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. DiRienzo also added a game-high five assists and two blocks
* Senior RJ Marsh (State College, PA/Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy) was one point and one rebound away of a double-double, recording nine points and pulling down nine rebounds
* Shawn Mason (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) was the third Lion to score in double-figures, registering 11 points with nine of his points coming from deep
* On the defensive end, Mason Blankenberg (Ontario, NY/Wayne) chipped in three steals to go along with eight points, while Stefan Milinkovic (Fairport, NY/Fairport) grabbed five rebounds
* The Mounties were led by Reggie Priah (13 points) and De'Von Haggans (12 points). Will Hagwood finished with a team-high eight rebounds and two steals
* As a team, Behrend shot 54.4 percent (31-57) from the field and took advantage of Mount Alosyius giveaways by scoring 18 points off 12 Mountie turnovers. The Lions also finished 93.8 percent (15-16) from the charity stripe

Up Next:

* The Lions will be off for Christmas break until Friday, December 29^th when they head to Bethlehem, Pa. to compete in the Steel Club Classic, hosted by Moravian University. Behrend takes on Alvernia in the first round at 6:30 p.m. and then will compete in the consolation or championship game on Saturday, December 30