Behrend Handles Fredonia State in Opener

ERIE, Pa. –  It was a season opener that Casey Courneen (Sewickley, PA/Quaker Valley) and Nick Delisio (Aliquippa, PA/Central Valley) won't soon forget.

The duo combined for 11 three-pointers and 42 points to lead the Penn State Behrend men's basketball team past Fredonia State 76-46 on Wednesday night at the Junker Center.

Courneen drained his first five three-point attempts of the night and the Lions (1-0) opened up a commanding 21-6 first-half lead. The senior finished 6-7 from deep with 20 points. His six threes were just one shy of tying a school record.  

The Blue Devils (1-2), however, would respond. Fredonia State went on a 19-5 run to cut the deficit to one following a Tyrone Clark layup with 4:52 remaining in the first half. Clark led the Devils with 20 points on the evening.

Behrend would then tighten up, refusing to allow Fredonia State to grab the lead. Delisio hit two quick threes just 37 seconds apart to help the Lions open up an 11 point halftime advantage. He finished with a game-high 22 points on 5-7 shooting from long range.

The momentum Behrend built going into the beak would carry over into the second half. The Lions held the Blue Devils to just 25 percent from the field and to 20 total points in the second session.

Keith Wallace (Erie, PA/Central Tech) had a career high six assists for Behrend and Zane Hackett (Brookville, PA/Brookville) netted career highs in both points (10) and rebounds (5). Shane Skelly (Westlake, OH/Westlake) also grabbed a career-high eight boards for the Lions.

Behrend will return to action Saturday night when they host Allegheny at 7 p.m.