PITTSBURGH, PA – La Roche men's basketball clinched a share of the AMCC Regular Season Championship and a first-round bye in the conference tournament with a 76-68 win over Pitt-Greensburg on Saturday. The Redhawks play Hilbert College on Saturday for the right to host the AMCC Tournament.
"We take every game one game at a time," said junior captain Daron Tabron. "Our ultimate goal is to win the conference championship and we wanted to get a victory today to take us one step closer to that goal."
La Roche trailed 41-40 at the 15:31 mark of the second half before an 11-2 run gave them the lead for good. David Jackson sparked the run when he put back a missed layup and Tabron scored on an outlet pass from Nick Herman to put them up three points. Joel McIntosh followed with steals and scores on consecutive possessions including a three point play with 13:23 left to play.
Tabron attributed the win to the Redhawks' play on the boards.
"Our objective is always to win the rebounding battle. We practice day after day on rebounding and today we were able to get the job done."
Pitt-Greensburg came into the game averaging 38 rebounds but the Redhawks outrebounded them 47-23 including 17-4 on the offensive glass. La Roche also outscored the Bobcats 44-22 in the paint and 22-5 on second chance points.
McIntosh led La Roche with 19 points and Andre Flanigan added 13 points and 9 rebounds. Jackson went 6 for 6 from the field and registered his 6th double-double of the season (14 points, 10 rebounds). Derek Barber-Richards had 9 points and 8 rebounds and Tabron netted 8 points and 6 rebounds in the win.
La Roche men's basketball will travel to Hilbert College on Saturday for a huge game against the Hawks. The winner will clinch home court in the AMCC Tournament.