Men's Basketball Recognized in Winningist
Teams of the 2000s
The Behrend men's basketball team has been recognized in the Official 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Records Book as one of the winningist teams of the 2000s.
"We have been very fortunate to have great players," said head coach Dave Niland. "The school's growth along with excellent resources and academic offerings, have helped us attract top student-athletes."
Behrend is ranked twenty-seventh by victories with 160 and ranked twenty-eighth by winning percentage at .721. Wooster leads both categories with 209 wins and an .864 winning percentage.
Niland continued, "We have great support from administrators and staff. This creates a great working and playing environment."
The men's team is working on climbing up the rankings. This past weekend, the Behrend Lions closed out their annual tip-off tournament with a tight 73-68 victory over Baldwin-Wallace on Sunday, November 18 in the Junker Center. The Yellow Jackets entered the game ranked # 20 in the nation according to the D3Hoops.com preseason poll as Behrend improved to 2-0.
Under Niland's direction the blue and white has produced thirteen straight winning seasons and postseason bids in ten of the past eleven years. He is the all-time leader in men's basketball coaching victories with 240 entering this season.
Niland has been named the AMCC Coach of the Year six times—a league and college record. His teams have earned postseason bids in ten of the past eleven seasons and won five regular-season league titles, and a pair of conference tournament championships. Last season, his team posted an impressive 21-8 mark and advanced to the ECAC Southern Region Tournament.
In 2005, coach Niland and his program
were awarded the Schoenfeld Award by the Collegiate Basketball Officials
Association. The Schoenfeld Award is an annual award given to a college or
university which the Collegiate Basketball Officials Association (CBOA)
identifies as having "the highest degree of sportsmanship, character, and
ethics among their players, coaches and spectators." The award is the
highest honor that the CBOA annually bestows on any collegiate institution.
The men will rest up this week and will hit the court again Saturday,
November 24. Behrend will travel to Westminster college to take
on the Titans at 4:00 p.m. Behrend will then open up
conference play on Wednesday, November 28 when they will take on the
Mt. Aloysius Mounties. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m.