Behrend Downs Allegheny, 77-64

ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team had four players reach double digits in a 77-64 victory over Allegheny on Saturday night at the Junker Center.

On a frigid night in Erie, the Lions (2-0) were red hot from the field, shooting 63 percent in the first half and 57 percent for the game.

Shane Skelly (Westlake, OH/Westlake) had 12 first-half points including a breakaway one-handed dunk that stretched the net beyond its usual proportion. The senior, who led Behrend with 18 points, was stellar on the defensive end as well, drawing two charges.

The Lions were able to continually exploit the Gators' 2-3 zone with crisp passing that led to easy buckets.  Behrend outscored Allegheny (2-2) 44-26 in the paint.

With the sound offensive attack, the Lions were able to open up a 16 point first-half lead. The Gators, though, finished the half on 11-4 run that culminated with a Josh Valentic three-point shot at the buzzer that cut the deficit to nine. Valenitc caught the ball off of a baseline inbounds pass with just .7 seconds left and buried the fade-away trey.

Nine points, however, would be as close as Allegheny would get. Behrend opened the second half on a quick 6-0 run and maintained a double-digit lead throughout the rest of the contest.

Keith Wallace (Erie, PA/Central Tech) was everywhere for the Lions, finishing with 15 points, six rebounds, and two assists. For Zane Hackett (Brookville, PA/Brookville), it was the second straight game the sophomore reached career highs in both points (15) and rebounds (6).

Behrend will continue their non-conference slate when they travel to Thiel on November 26 at 8 p.m.