Lions Take Regular Season Series from Hawks

ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team claimed a 78-63 victory over Hilbert in the team's final regular season home game of the season Wednesday night.

Score: Penn State Behrend 78, Hilbert 63

Records: Penn State Behrend (16-6, 11-4 AMCC), Hilbert (10-12, 6-9 AMCC)

Key Moments:

* The first 15 minutes of Wednesday's contest was back-and-forth between both teams, but a pair of three-pointers from RJ Marsh (State College, PA/Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy) and Michael Sopko (New Castle, PA/Neshannock) pushed Behrend's lead to six (29-23)
* The Lions would extend their lead to 11 (41-30) going into halftime
* Behrend would never look back in the second half, taking its biggest lead of 20 (63-43) with 10:04 remaining and eventually earning its 11^th conference win
* Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) led all scorers with 24 points to go along with seven rebounds and a game-high five assists
* This marks the 21^st game this season that DiRienzo has recorded double-figures and 12^th time finishing with 20 or more points
* Marsh was one rebound shy of his third straight double-double, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds. Marsh also tallied three steals on the defensive end
* Other Lions to score in double-figures were Sopko and Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny)
* McDonough delivered 16 points, while Sopko added 10 points and seven rebounds
* Off the bench, Mason Blankenberg (Ontario, NY/Wayne) chipped in nine points and four rebounds
* For the Hawks, Jahmel Demery scored a team-high 22 points, while pulling down eight rebounds off the bench. Edward Perez notched a double-double, registering 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds
* As a team, Behrend delivered 17 points off 12 Hilbert turnovers

Up Next:

* The Lions complete the regular season with three games on the road, beginning at Penn State Altoona on Saturday, Feb. 10. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.