Men’s Basketball halted by hot-shooting Penn State Behrend

ERIE, Pa. --- Carlow University men's basketball lost a 92-76 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference game to Penn State Behrend on the road Monday.

The Celtics (3-12, 2-5 AMCC) shot 49 percent (25 for 51) from the field, but it was not enough to lift them to victory over the Lions (9-7, 4-3 AMCC).

Adnan Sbai (Camp Hill, Pa./East Pennsboro Area HS/Seton Hill University) led Carlow with 17 points and three assists. Nehemiah Brazil (Pittsburgh, Pa./Nazareth Prep HS) shot 9 for 10 from the foul line to add 15 points, while Riley Comforti (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland HS) and Byron Gaskins (Woodbridge, Va./Christ Chapel Academy) contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively. Devin Lewis (Warrenton, Va./Fauquier HS/Pitt Bradford) recorded 11 points off the bench.

Both teams tied the score and traded leads throughout the first half before the Lions went on an 11-3 run over the course of five minutes to gain a 32-24 advantage. Penn State Behrend pushed its lead to 10, and a three-pointer from Jordan Cannon (Cleveland, Ohio/Lutheran East/West Virginia Wesleyan) brought Carlow back to trail by six with 1:44 remaining. The Lions held Carlow scoreless and tacked on three points at the foul line to lead 48-39 at halftime.

Penn State Behrend continued to extend its lead in the second half until the Celtics went on an 11-4 run in the span of four minutes to trail by 10. The Lions scored six points in quick succession to add some cushion and tallied 10 of their final 14 points at the free throw line.

Penn State Behrend shot 62.3 percent (33 for 53) from the field and outscored Carlow 50-30 in the paint. The Lions held a 30-23 margin in rebounding.

Tommy DiRienzo and Matthew McDonough scored over half of Penn State Behrend's points with 27 and 23, respectively.

The Celtics travel to crosstown foe La Roche University for a 7 p.m. AMCC game Wednesday.