Erie, Pa. – Senior Masia Phillips finished with a game-high 24 points, but it wasn't enough as the Penn State Behrend Lions pulled away late for a 77-61 victory over the visiting Hawks.

THE BASICS

• Final Score: Penn State Behrend 77 Hilbert 61
• Location: Junker Center, Penn State Behrend College 6pm
• Records: Hilbert 15-9 (11-8 AMCC) | Penn State Behrend 17-7 (14-5 AMCC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Lazar Jovanovich hit a three-pointer on the Hawks opening possesion to open up the scoring for either team. 
• Senior Masia Phillips took over from there, scoring six of the next eight points for the Hawks to get Hilbert off to the strong start they were looking for, giving them an 11-6 lead just over six minutes into the game.
• Behrend flipped the script, outscoring the Hawks 11-6 over the next six minutes to tie it up at 17-17 with just under eight minutes left in the half.
• Hilbert answered back with an 11-4 run, as they used missed shots from the Behrend attack to push the fast break, giving them five straight layups followed by a Hunter Martineau free throw to take a 28-21 lead with 4:30 remaining in the first half.
• The Hawks continued to attack the rim, resulting in a few more layups over the next three minutes before Lazar Jovanovich closed out the first half scoring the final five points for the Hawks to give Hilbert a 40-31 lead heading into the intermission.
• The Lions came out in the second half on fire, outscoring the Hawks 15-3 over the first seven minutes of action with Mitchell King and Tyler Gates scoring 10 of the 15 points to give the hosts a 46-43 lead.
• Both teams traded baskets back and forth over the next three and a half minutes of play before Jon Evans hit a jumper in the paint to get the Hawks within a lone point at 52-51 with 9:32 to go.
• Hilbert kept it within a basket after a pair of Masia Phillips free throws on the following possession, but that would be the closest they would get as the Lions took over from there to cruise to the 77-61 win.
• Masia Phillips led all scorers with a game-high 24 points, while Jon Evans ripped down a team-high six rebounds. Masia Phillips and Hunter Martineau each dished out a team-high three assists.
• Tyler Gates led the Behrend offensive attack with a team-high 23 points, while both Gates and Dorian Connors posted a game-high 11 rebounds. Mitchell King added a game-high six assists.  

GAME NOTES

• Masia Phillips and Lazar Jovanovich combined to score 23 of the Hawks 40 points in the first half, to give the Hawks a nine point lead over the host Lions at the intermission.
• Both teams combined to score 90 points in the paint, with Behrend holding a 50-40 advantage.
• Behrend held a 15-4 advantage in points off turnovers and an 18-8 advantage in bench points.
• Hilbert finished 25 of 57 (43.9%) from the floor, including 2 of 14 (14.3%) from 3-point range, while going 9 of 13 (69.2%) from the free throw line.   
• Behrend shot 32 of 61 (52.5%) from the floor, including 5 of 17 from the 3-point line (29.4%), while shooting 8 of 11 (72.7%) from the charity stripe.  

WHAT'S NEXT

The Hawks are back in action Saturday as they hit the road to play Penn State Altoona in an AMCC contest with major playoff implications. Tip-off is set for 1pm.

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