Hilbert College Men's Basketball - 2026 AMCC Final Four Preview:
Friday, February 27, 2026 | Junker Center | Erie, PA
No. 4 Hilbert (8-8) at No. 1 Penn State Behrend (14-2) | 6:00 pm |  Live Stats  |  Live Video
No. 3 La Roche (12-4) vs No. 2 Pitt-Greensburg (13-3) | 8:00 pm |  Live Stats  |  Live Video
Saturday, February 28, 2026 | Junker Center | Erie, PA                                                                                                                                    AMCC CHAMPIONSHIP | 5:00 pm
 
Hilbert Hawks

• Hilbert earned head coach Rob deGrandpre's tenth career trip to the AMCC Semifinals with a 92-77 win over Penn State Altoona at home on Tuesday.
• After taking a narrow 37-36 lead into the break, the Hawks dominated the game's final 20 minutes, 55-41 to advance to the Final Four.
• Three Hawks scored at least 20 points in the first-round victory, led by a 28-point effort from freshman Ari Jones. Jayden Montgomery added 21 points to a team-high nine assists, while Larry Morse came a rebound shy of a double-double with a 21-point nine rebound performance.
• Off the bench, Demetrius Robinson provided a spark with 11 points, ten boards five assists, three steals, and a block.
• The offense of the Hawks is led by junior Larry Morse, an AMCC First-Team member a year ago and three-time AMCC Men's Basketball Player of the Week this season. Morse ranks second in the conference with 19.6 points per game and is third with 8.9 rebounds a game
• The Freshman trio of Ari Jones, Ne'Sean Fowlks, and Iyan Bremer have been key for the Hawks all year, combining for 26 points a night led by 10.3 from Jones.
• Junior guard Jayden Montgomery does it all for the Hawks as he averages 8.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and a conference-leading 6.4 assists per game in AMCC contests, while his 7.1 assists per game on the season ranks him first in all of Division III. With nine assists against Altoona, Montgomery set a new program record with 184 assists this season.
• Defensively, Fowlks and Montgomery each occupy a spot on the conference's top ten list for blocks with 0.8 and 0.6 per game, respectively. Montgomery's 1.9 steals per game sees him tied for fifth in the AMCC.
• As a team, the Hawks move the ball well, leading to efficient offense as Hilbert tops the AMCC with 17.7 assists a night and is third in the conference with a 47.3 field goal percentage.

 
Penn State Behrend Lions

• The Lions earned the AMCC's #1 seed and the right to host the Semifinals and Championship inside the Junker Center after a 14-2 regular season.
• Behrend is 9-3 overall and 7-1 in conference play inside the Junker Center this season.
• Freshman Jacob Dunkle leads the offense with 16.6 points (sixth in the AMCC) and 7.9 rebounds (fourth in the AMCC) a game.
• Nate Edwards, Mason Blankenberg, and Matthew McDonough all give Behrend consistent secondary scoring as they each average between 11 and 11.2 points a game.
• McDonough and Blankenberg each find themselves inside the AMCC's top ten assist list with 3.3 and 2.4 helpers a night, respectively.
• The Lions boast the AMCC's top defense in points allowed (57.5 per game) opponents field goal percentage (41.4% - tied with Hilbert) and opponents three-point percentage (28.3%).

 
Series History

• Penn State Behrend won both matchups this season, taking down the Hawks, 81-69 at home on January 14^th, before completing the regular season sweep on February 4^th with an 81-49 victory in Hamburg.
• Ari Jones led Hilbert with 13.5 points per game in the two contests against the Lions, while Larry Morse added ten points and five rebounds per game.
• McDonough, Dunkle, and Shawn Mason led the way for Behrend in the two-game series, each scoring in double figures both games, led by McDonough's 22 points per game.
• All time, Behrend is 25-6 against Hilbert including wins in each of the last six matchups.

 
Stat Comparisons – Conference only games (regular season):

Points per game / offense:                                   76.9 HIL | 70.3 PSB   
Points per game / defense:                                 72.4 HIL | 57.5 PSB
FG% offense:                                                       46.8% HIL | 48.5% PSB   
FG% defense:                                                     41.4% HIL | 41.4%  PSB
3FG% offense:                                                     29.9% HIL | 33.9% PSB  
3FG% defense:                                                   30.4% HIL | 28.3% PSB
Rebound offense:                                                11.8 HIL | 9.0 PSB   
Rebound defense:                                              28.8 HIL | 24.6 PSB
Steals                                                                  7.6 HIL | 5.4 PSB
 
 
La Roche Redhawks vs Pitt-Greensburg Bobcats

• La Roche earned a trip to Erie for the AMCC Semifinals after a 74-61 victory over Alfred State at home on Tuesday. Jeston Beatty led all scorers with 19 points, while Brandon Bell registered 15 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double effort. Major Rainey also added a double-double for the Redhawks, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds while Bryce Epps chipped in with 13 points.
•  Pitt-Greensburg earned a bye into the Final Four after a 13-3 AMCC regular season that included a pair of tight losses to the Redhawks.  
• Preseason Player of the Year Trent Rozich leads the Bobcats with 16.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while La Roche is led by Bryce Epps who also averages 16.8 points a contest.