Cresson, PA - In a rescheduled AMCC game of the week, the 3rd place Mount Aloysius Men's Basketball team took on 2nd place Penn State Behrend on Monday Night. Despite holding the Lions to 12 points in the paint, the Mounties were unable to contain their opponents from behind the arc as they fell by a final score of 58-51.

Both teams had a strong defensive start to the game as the teams combined for 10 points in the first 10 minutes of play. Trent McErlane (Greenville, Pa/Greenville) got things started with a three pointer from the wing as the shot clock expired. The Mounties would then build a 5 point lead as Carlos Palacio (Bilbao, Spain/Phelps School) hit a jumper from the lane, Nate Christian (Accokeek, MD/Surratsville/Hood) added a lay-up and Julian Stover (Washington, DC/Richard Montgomery) hit a free throw. The Lions began to find the basket after 12 minutes of play as they hit 4 threes, two layups and a free throw to put the Mountie up 1 at the half. Palacio kept the Mounties afloat through the first half as he scored 10 of the Mounties 21 points. 

The second half was much different than the first as both teams were able to increase their scoring throughout the period. The teams traded the lead early in the half as each team hit two three pointers in the first 5 minutes. The Mounties struggled to keep up with the Lions for the remainder of the game as Penn State Behrend was able to make 9 of 14 threes in the half. While the Mounties were never able to completely make up the lead, they did have a few highlights in the second half and were able to make a run near the end of the game. After a Behrend three moved the lead to 7 points Azim Hutson (Orlando, FL/Ocoee) drove the baseline and threw down a powerful slam dunk to energize the team and crowd. The Mounties used the energy to eventually cut the lead to 1 after a Palacio jumper with just over 2 minutes to go. Mount Aloysius was unable to complete the comeback in the final two minutes as the Lions scored 8 points while the Mounties could only muster two Hutson free throws. 

Palacio led the way for the Mounties scoring 17 points on 7-12 shooting while making 3 of 5 from three. Hutson scored a season high 13 points while shooting 80% from the field and making both three pointers he attempted. 

The loss moves the Mounties' record to 9-8 on the year with a 6-4 record in AMCC play. They will take on local rival Penn State Altoona on Wednesday night starting at 8:00 PM