Men's Basketball Finishes Season in ECAC Semifinals To Juniata in Double-Overtime Thriller

HUNTINGDON, Pa. - Juniata rallied back in the final minutes of regulation to force overtime and grab the eventual win from the Penn State Behrend men's basketball team in the Eastern Collegiate Athletics Conference (ECAC) Semifinals Saturday afternoon.

Score: Juniata 93, Penn State Behrend 86
Records: Juniata (16-11), Penn State Behrend (21-8)

Key Moments:

* After a back-and-forth first half, Behrend took a one-point advantage (30-29) back to the locker room
* A Matthew McDonough (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) three-pointer gave the Lions their largest lead of the game (46-35) five minutes into the second period
* However, the Eagles would come back, cutting the lead to two (54-52) with five minutes remaining in regulation
* Behrend was unable to seal the win down the stretch after some missed free throws, giving Juniata several opportunities to tie the score or potentially take the lead
* A three-pointer from Tyler Lapetina with only a second left in regulation knotted score the at 65 apeice to force overtime
* A winner could not be decided in the first overtime as the Eagles had a chance to win the game on a final jumper, but were unable to capitalize and sent the contest into double overtime
* Juniata made five consecutive baskets in the second extra frame to take an 89-82 and would earn its 16th victory and a trip to the ECAC with made free throws down the stretch to close out Saturday's contest
* For the second consecutive game, Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) recorded a 30-point double-double
* DiRienzo tallied 30 points and 12 rebounds, marking the fourth time this year garnering 30 points and eighth double-double performance this season from the reigning Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Player of the Year
* McDonough notched his 21st game this season in double-figures, finishing with 16 points
* Senior Matt Niland (Erie, PA/Fairview) scored 15 points to go along with season-highs rebounds (seven) and assists (six)
* Fellow senior RJ Marsh (State College, PA/Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy) registered his eighth contest this season with double-digit rebounds, pulling down 10 rebounds
* Off the bench, Mason Blankenberg (Ontario, NY/Wayne) chipped in 10 points and five rebounds
* For Juniata, Chase Husted delivered a game-high 37 points and 14 rebounds, while Lapetina finished with 22 points and Mason Hardy and Gabe Guidinger each scored 10 points. Guidinger collected 11 rebounds for the Eagles
* As a team, Behrend held Juniata to 24.1 percent (7-29) from beyond the arc and outscored the Eagles in fastbreak points (7-0)