An eight-game winning streak has put the men’s basketball team at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, at the top of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference standings. The Lions are 13-2, with a 7-1 conference record.
The team held off Hilbert College, a 12-3 team, in a tight game in Hamburg, N.Y., on Jan. 20 to take sole possession of the AMCC lead. The Lions forced 21 turnovers on their way to a 55-52 win.
The team did especially well at the foul line, making 23 of 27 attempts. Hilbert attempted just 23 free throws and made only 12.
Shane Skelly, a senior from Westlake, Ohio, made a clutch free throw with seven seconds left in the game. He finished with 17 points.
Skelly and Casey Courneen, a senior from Sewickley, have been consistent since the winter break, head coach Dave Niland said. “They’ve kind of led the way,” Niland said. “They’re playing well, and everyone else is feeding on that, raising their own game. It’s been a different guy each night.”
In Hamburg, it was Nick Delisio’s turn. Delisio, a junior from Aliquippa, scored nine of the final 10 Lions points.
The eight-game winning streak is the team’s longest since 2008, when Penn State Behrend won 11 in a row. Niland hopes to add to it Thursday when the Lions host Pitt-Bradford. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. in the Junker Center.