Alfred State Squeaks By Behrend

ALFRED, N.Y. – The Penn State Behrend men's basketball team fell in the final minutes, 52-49, at Alfred State Wednesday night.

Score: Alfred State 52, Penn State Behrend 49
Records: Alfred State (3-14, 2-6 AMCC), Penn State Behrend (9-8­, 4-4 AMCC)

Key Moments:

* It was a back-and-forth 20 minutes between Behrend and Alfred State with neither team taking more than a three-point advantage for the majority of the first half
* The Pioneers grabbed their largest lead of seven (27-20) with 3:06 left in the half on a Jacob Gonzalez layup
* The Lions cut the deficit to only four (29-25) heading into the locker room at halftime
* Gonzalez (10 points) and Michael Miller (10 points) both led the Alfred State in first half scoring, while Nate Edwards (Girard, PA/Girard) recorded seven points for Behrend
* The second half was much of the same as the first with neither team being able to hold more than a three-point lead
* The final 20 minutes saw 16 lead changes and four ties
* With 4:50 remaining, Behrend scored three straight baskets to register a four-point advantage (47-43) and force a Pioneers' timeout
* Alfred State retook the lead (50-47), thanks to a three-point play by Miller and four straight points from Ben Sneddon with 3:29 left in the contest
* The Lions made it a one-point game with two minutes remaining on a Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) layup
* However, the Pioneers made two free throws with six seconds remaining to secure their second conference win of the season
* All-in-all Wednesday's contest had 32 lead changes and eight ties
* DiRienzo finished with a team-high 15 points to go along with seven rebounds
* Edwards was the other Lion to tally double-figures with 12 points
* Off the bench, Dolan Waldo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) chipped in six points and five rebounds, while Michael Sopko (New Castle, PA/Neshannock) pulled down seven rebounds
* For Alfred State, Miller delivered a game-high 17 points. Gonzalez notched 12 points and Sneddon collected a team-high seven rebounds to go along with six points
* As a team, Behrend outrebounded the Pioneers (30-26) and outscored Alfred State off turnovers (13-10) and in second chance points (12-6)

Up Next:

* Behrend travels to Pitt-Greensburg on Saturday, Jan. 25. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.