Men's Basketball Wins Conference Championship, Punches Ticket to NCAA Tournament

ERIE, Pa. – The No. 1 Penn State Behrend men's basketball team captured their seventh overall Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championship with a 66-61 decision over No. 2 Pitt-Greensburg on Saturday afternoon in the Junker Center.  

Score: Penn State Behrend 66, Pitt-Greensburg 61
Records: Penn State Behrend (21-6), Pitt-Greensburg (22-5)

Noteworthy:

* Jacob Dunkle and Matthew McDonough were named to the All-Tournament Team
* This is the first AMCC Championship since the 2018-19 season
* The Lions earn the AMCC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament

 Key Moments:

* One point separated the Lions and the Bobcats with 1:43 remaining in the game
* A McDonough steal set up a three-pointer from Nate Edwards, his eighth field goal of the game to give Behrend a 64-61 lead
* The Lions forced another Pitt-Greensburg turnover leading to an inbounds pass underneath the visitors hoop
* Behrend broke the press on the inbounds pass thanks to Blankenberg and Edwards who found a wide open Shawn Mason for the fast-break layup with seven seconds on the clock
* The Bobcats had one last attempt, missing the triple with time expiring
* Pitt-Greensburg managed to get to a six-point lead in the first half, knocking down seven three pointers  
* Behrend, down 32-27 at the half, fought back to start the second to and take the lead after a pair of Dunkle free throws at the 16:28 mark
* The Lions stayed out front until Pitt-Greensburg got within one with less than two minutes to play
* Dunkle posted his second double-double of the championship tournament with team-best 21 points and 15 rebounds
* Edwards, who scored the team's first seven points of the game, got his career high of 20 points and added five rebounds, three assists and one steal
* McDonough made clutch shots during the game and ended with 10 points and team-best five assists

 Next Up:

* The Behrend Lions will await the announcement of their first-round opponent during the NCAA Selection Show scheduled for Monday at 1 p.m.