ERIE, PA – Hilbert Men's Basketball battled Penn State Behrend this evening on the road inside the Junker Center in AMCC action. The Lions, who entered the evening unbeaten in conference play, remained perfect with an 81-69 victory over the Hawks who move to 4-2 in the AMCC.
The Lions opened the game with early threes, but Hilbert settled in behind interior scoring from
Larry Morse and steady perimeter play from
Ronnie Lewis. Behrend stretched its lead to double digits midway through the first half, only for the Hawks to respond with a composed 10–4 surge fueled by defensive stops and transition layups from
Sonny Williams and
Ne'Sean Fowlks.
Ari Jones added timely buckets off the bench, helping Hilbert trim the deficit to six at halftime, 37–31.
The second half unfolded as a possession‑by‑possession battle. After Behrend briefly pushed the margin back to seven,
Jayden Montgomery knocked down a three and later converted back‑to‑back layups to keep Hilbert within striking distance. Lewis and Jones each added perimeter makes as the Hawks repeatedly answered Behrend scores, and a three from Fowlks at the 12:28 mark pulled Hilbert within one at 49–50. Moments later, Montgomery's three‑point play gave the Hawks their first lead of the night, 61–60, with 5:41 remaining.
From there, however, the Lions closed with a decisive 21–8 run. Matthew McDonough and Shawn Mason hit key threes, and Nate Edwards converted six straight free throws in the final minute as Behrend capitalized on late turnovers and empty Hilbert possessions. Montgomery and Lewis continued to score in the final stretch, but the Hawks were unable to string together the stops needed to retake control.
Lewis led Hilbert with 15 points on 6‑of‑8 shooting, including three triples. Morse added 12 points and five boards while Montgomery delivered a strong all‑around performance with 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Fowlks also reached double figures with 10 points and added three steals. Jones contributed 11 points off the bench to round out Hilbert's scoring.
UP NEXT:
The Hawks will look to get back in the win column this weekend when the team travels to take on Pitt-Greensburg on Saturday.
