Mar 01, 2014
ERIE, Pa – The Hilbert College men's basketball team made it to the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference title game today, but didn't have enough gas in their tank after battling in their semi-final game last night.
Penn State Behrend earned their second consecutive championship by claiming a 66-51 victory over Hilbert March 1. With the win, the Lions earned the AMCC league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national tournament with pairings and game locations being announced Monday, March 3.
Jerame Owens led the Hawks with 19 points and 12 rebounds as he earned his 15th double-double this season (25th in his two-year career). Nick Nadeau added 12 points in 26 minutes before fouling out. Ryan Brewster came off the bench to support the offensive cause and added eight points (four of five).
The hosts had three players reach double figures led by Nick DeLisio's 18 points (five assists and five steals). Shane Skelly battled Owens in the paint all night and matched the double-double effort with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
In the first minutes of the game, both teams found ways to light the scoreboard. Hilbert progressively added points to build their largest lead in the game after just two and half minutes of play. Jerame Owens sank one of two from the foul line, then scored a layup in the paint before Trevor Stark knocked down a 3-pointer. Stark followed up with another layup to give Hilbert an 8-6 advantage.
After that point, the Lions slowly stretched their control in the game. Behrend built a 10-point lead by converting on offense and tightening up on defense. The Lions forced four Hawk turnovers and allowed only two Hilbert attempts during the 10-0 run. By half time, only four Hawks posted points on the board led by Owens who almost secured a double-double after 19 minutes of play.
Hilbert's 40% field goal shooting bettered Behrend's 34.4%, but the Lions attempted 12 more shots and sank three more buckets by the break. Hilbert's 11 turnovers and Behrend's six offensive boards gave them more offensive opportunities to post a 30-23 advantage at the half.
Behrend threw the ball away on their first possession in the second half which led to the Owens' layup that trimmed the difference to five (30-25). After trading baskets, with Ryan Brewster hitting his second shot of the game, Behrend went both inside the paint and outside the arc to take a commanding 41-27 lead.
Over the course of the next five minutes, Hilbert struggled to find the twine. Brewster's lay-up at 13:33 along with a few free throws in the dry spell, gave Hilbert 32 points, but by then, the Lions had a sixteen point cushion. Behrend used the clock to their advantage, spread the floor on offense and looked for the extra pass to set up the easy shot.
Neither team hit more than four baskets before the final horn. Hilbert sank 10 foul shots and made only nine baskets (39% FG) in the second half to total 28 points. Behrend connected on 48% of their shots and out-rebounded the Hawks by nine in the second period.
CJ Hodge moved up on the Hilbert career lists after this weekend's championship run. He played the third most number of minutes in the Hawks program since the 2003-04 season and holds the program's record for number of starts (105) and number of games played (109). He sits in 6th place for free throws attempted and 9th place in free throws made. Hodge moved to #2 on the list with 383 assists with a 3.5 assist per game average (3rd). The senior also jumped to 4th overall with 172 steals.
Hilbert closed out the 2013-14 season earning the program's most wins in a season (21) and the program's first appearance in the AMCC title game. The Hawks have so much to be proud of this year and should be excited about next season. They will certainly miss the leadership and grittiness that senior CJ Hodge brought to the program and must replace that element in order to return to the championship weekend in the future.
Penn State Behrend earned their second consecutive championship by claiming a 66-51 victory over Hilbert March 1. With the win, the Lions earned the AMCC league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national tournament with pairings and game locations being announced Monday, March 3.
Jerame Owens led the Hawks with 19 points and 12 rebounds as he earned his 15th double-double this season (25th in his two-year career). Nick Nadeau added 12 points in 26 minutes before fouling out. Ryan Brewster came off the bench to support the offensive cause and added eight points (four of five).
The hosts had three players reach double figures led by Nick DeLisio's 18 points (five assists and five steals). Shane Skelly battled Owens in the paint all night and matched the double-double effort with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
In the first minutes of the game, both teams found ways to light the scoreboard. Hilbert progressively added points to build their largest lead in the game after just two and half minutes of play. Jerame Owens sank one of two from the foul line, then scored a layup in the paint before Trevor Stark knocked down a 3-pointer. Stark followed up with another layup to give Hilbert an 8-6 advantage.
After that point, the Lions slowly stretched their control in the game. Behrend built a 10-point lead by converting on offense and tightening up on defense. The Lions forced four Hawk turnovers and allowed only two Hilbert attempts during the 10-0 run. By half time, only four Hawks posted points on the board led by Owens who almost secured a double-double after 19 minutes of play.
Hilbert's 40% field goal shooting bettered Behrend's 34.4%, but the Lions attempted 12 more shots and sank three more buckets by the break. Hilbert's 11 turnovers and Behrend's six offensive boards gave them more offensive opportunities to post a 30-23 advantage at the half.
Behrend threw the ball away on their first possession in the second half which led to the Owens' layup that trimmed the difference to five (30-25). After trading baskets, with Ryan Brewster hitting his second shot of the game, Behrend went both inside the paint and outside the arc to take a commanding 41-27 lead.
Over the course of the next five minutes, Hilbert struggled to find the twine. Brewster's lay-up at 13:33 along with a few free throws in the dry spell, gave Hilbert 32 points, but by then, the Lions had a sixteen point cushion. Behrend used the clock to their advantage, spread the floor on offense and looked for the extra pass to set up the easy shot.
Neither team hit more than four baskets before the final horn. Hilbert sank 10 foul shots and made only nine baskets (39% FG) in the second half to total 28 points. Behrend connected on 48% of their shots and out-rebounded the Hawks by nine in the second period.
CJ Hodge moved up on the Hilbert career lists after this weekend's championship run. He played the third most number of minutes in the Hawks program since the 2003-04 season and holds the program's record for number of starts (105) and number of games played (109). He sits in 6th place for free throws attempted and 9th place in free throws made. Hodge moved to #2 on the list with 383 assists with a 3.5 assist per game average (3rd). The senior also jumped to 4th overall with 172 steals.
Hilbert closed out the 2013-14 season earning the program's most wins in a season (21) and the program's first appearance in the AMCC title game. The Hawks have so much to be proud of this year and should be excited about next season. They will certainly miss the leadership and grittiness that senior CJ Hodge brought to the program and must replace that element in order to return to the championship weekend in the future.