The men’s basketball team was able to capture two conference wins over the week, defeating Medaille by five at home and Pitt-Greensburg by nine on the road. These victories propelled the Lions to an 18-3 overall record, while staying undefeated at home and maintaining their AMCC Conference lead alongside La Roche. The women’s team did not fare as well, though, dropping both of their games to their conference rivals. While they have been competitive in most of their games this year, the Behrend women currently post an 8-13 overall record with a 2-8 road record.

​

The men’s team pulled out a close victory against the Medaille Mavericks for the second time this season. Behind Mike Fischer’s career-high 19 points, 14 of which came in the second half, the Lions were able to post their 12th conference win of the season, continuing their dominance against AMCC opponents. As it happened the last time these two teams met, this game intensely competitive. After a quick first half burst that netted the Lions a 15 point lead, Medaille was able to bounce back and make it a seven point game by halftime. A nip and tuck second half was capped by a Justin Gorny layup off of a Derrick Clark assist, which gave Behrend the lead for the remainder of the game. Both teams played solid defense throughout the game, as neither team shot better than 41 percent on the evening. In addition to Fischer’s 19 points, Dan Wanker recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Justin Gorny tossed in 11 points and gathered seven boards.

​

The nation’s best Division III defense stood tall once again against the Pitt-Greensburg Bobcats as Behrend took home a 68-59 victory on Saturday. The Lions only gave up 23 points in the first half to the Bobcats, zero of which came from downtown, and took a 15 point lead into the half. Behrend rode that lead for the entire second half, which was played rather evenly, en route to the win. Malike Brinson led the way this time around for the Lions, scoring 16 points while grabbing five boards and four steals. Derrick Clark added 11 points and four boards. Fischer narrowly missed out on a double-double, scoring nine points and dishing out 11 assists.

​

As mentioned, the women’s team did not fare well over the weekend, losing both of their conference showdowns. On Wednesday, the Lions took on Medaille in the Junker Center and suffered a double digit defeat to the Mavericks. The Lions held a nine point lead after the first quarter and were controlling play. After the first half, the Lions held a 12 point lead. That lead quickly slipped away, however, as the Mavericks outscored Behrend by 22 in the third quarter. Medaille and Behrend played an even fourth quarter to give the Mavericks the 77-67 win. Rebounding was one of the primary tellers of the game, as Medaille collected 17 more boards than the Lions. Behrend allowed 24 offensive rebounds, with Morgan Kennedy of the Mavericks gathering 12 of her 21 rebounds on the offensive glass. Additionally, the Lions did not make a single three-pointer in the game. Autumn Byes led Behrend with her season best 22 points, adding seven rebounds and five steals in the process. Erika Woll and Emily Kinecki were not too far behind with 17 points and 15 points, respectively.

​

Saturday was a different story, however, as Behrend fell behind Pitt-Greensburg early, only to erase the early lead by halftime. Going into the second half, Behrend was up by two. In the second half, the Bobcats made key shots from downtown. Despite their best efforts, the Lions could not counter the Bobcats’ perimeter attack and ended up losing the game by five. Byes again made a strong showing, posting a double-double on the evening with 12 points and 12 boards. Woll scored 14, gathered six boards and dished out five assists. Kinecki also added 13 points and seven boards.

​

The men’s and women's basketball teams will face off against conference rivals La Roche and Pitt-Bradford this week. With only four games left on their schedules, it is getting down to the nitty gritty in the AMCC Conference. Wednesday’s games begin at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the Junker Center. On Saturday, each team will travel to Pitt-Bradford and play at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively, with the men’s team playing the former times and the women’s team playing the latter times.