Penn State Behrend Men's Basketball
Earns Fourth NCAA Appearance
After
capturing the AMCC Tournament Championship for a third time under coach Dave Niland,
the Penn State Behrend men's basketball team received an automatic bid to
the NCAA Division III Tournament. The bracket and game times were
announced Monday, March 3.
The Behrend Lions are set to play Friday, March 7 at the University of
Rochester in Rochester, NY. The men will play Farmingdale State
College at 6:00 p.m. Farmingdale (22-5) advances to the tournament
after defeating St. Joseph's 91-71 and winning the Skyline conference.
They are ranked second in the nation in rebounding margin category, snagging
on average 10.3 more than opponents.
The Behrend men's basketball team has had a tremendous season thus far, with an overall record of 23-4. The blue and white captured the AMCC regular season title, finishing 15-3 in the conference. The men are ranked number one in the NCAA Division III for scoring defense, holding opponents to 53.9 ppg. The men also led the AMCC in a number of categories including rebounding defense, field goal percentages, and scoring margin, beating opponents by 13.7 ppg on average. As a squad, the Behrend Lions are shooting 48.5% from the floor, 66.9% from the free-throw line, and 39.2% from behind the arc, while averaging 67 ppg.
A number of top
performers have propelled the blue and white to their success.
Senior Kevin Buczynski (Erie/Villa Maria) has led the Behrend Lions in
scoring this season, posting 425 points, with a 15.7 ppg average. He
ranks second in career scoring, putting away 1,648 points over his four
years at Behrend and is only 78 points behind the number one position.
Tom Newman (Erie/Northwestern) has been another standout player for the Behrend Lions, averaging 9.1 ppg and adding 4.1 rebounds per game.
Adam Kaiser (Erie/Cathedral Prep) has come up huge for the men this season,
including hitting four clutch three's in the AMCC championship game to aid
the Behrend Lions to the win. He leads the team in three-point
percentages, hitting 45.7% from behind the arc and averaging 8.3 ppg.
This marks the team's second automatic (2004-05) and fourth
(2003-04/1999-2000) ever bid to the NCAA Tournament for the Behrend Lions.
Their last appearance was in the 2004-05 season, when the blue and white
bowed out in the first round, losing 71-53. In the 1999-2000
post-season, coach Niland led his squad to the Elite Eight of the NCAA
Division III Tournament.