Penn State Behrend Men's Basketball Defeats
Penn State Altoona,
Advances to Championship Game to face Lake Erie
The
2008 AMCC men's basketball tournament semifinals began on Friday, February
29, in the Junker Center. After capturing the regular season title, the
Penn State Behrend men
earned the right to host the semifinals and championship games. The Behrend
Lions found their rhythm in the second half and pulled away to defeat Penn
State Altoona 62-42 and advance to the championship game.
Both teams came out
fired up and ready to play to begin the game. Behrend would strike first, but chances
would be slim for each team. After ten minutes of play in the first
half, the Behrend Lions were ahead 11-10. Sophomore Adam Kaiser
(Erie/Cathedral Prep) was able to give the blue and white an edge, hitting
two of three from behind the arc. While senior Kevin Buczynski (Erie/Villa Maria)
was good for nine points, shooting three for five from the charity stripe.
The men began to pull away with only a few minutes remaining to lead 20-13.
Altoona responded, with under a minute left in the first half, when Curtis Geiger
hit a monstrous three from way down town to bring the Altoona Lions within
four. Behrend was keen to not let up their lead, ending the half with
a 22-16 lead. Behrend shot just
6-of-17 from the floor for 35% in the first half, while Altoona was 6-of-22
for 27% from the floor.
The second half was a different story as Behrend connected at a blistering
68% from the field (13-of-19) to pull away for a comfortable win.
Buczynski finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, and five blocks.
Also in double figures were Kaiser and Tom Newman (Girard/Northwestern) who
both scored 11 and connected on three from long-range.
Mike Dancer was the lone player for Penn State Altoona in double figures as
he scored 11 points to go along with 4 rebounds. With the win Behrend
improved to 22-4, while Altoona fell to 14-13.
In the second semifinal game, #2 Lake Erie took on the #6 Medaille
Mavericks. This marked the first AMCC appearance for the Mavericks since
their inception into the AMCC. Lake Erie would spoil the opportunity
for the Mavericks as the Storm came through down the stretch to put away a
spirited Medaille squad 71-66. Medaille jumped out to a fast start,
leading 13-2 just minutes into the game. Erie's
James McNeil led the charge scoring 17 first-half points. Lake Erie
responded and chipped away for the rest of the half, and the teams entered
the break knotted at 30-30.
In the second half Lake Erie's defensive pressure forced a number of
turnovers leading to key buckets. The Storm finished the game with 15
steals on the way to the five-point victory. Derrick Thornton led the
charge scoring 25 points and grabbing six rebounds for the Storm who
improved to 18-8.
For Medaille, McNeil finished with 25 points including six from long-range,
while Keith Hack added 17 points and nine rebounds for Medaille who fell to
15-12.
On Saturday, #1 Behrend will face off against #2 Lake Erie in the AMCC Championship game in the Junker Center. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m. The winner of the AMCC Title will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.