Men’s Basketball battles Penn State Behrend in AMCC matchup

PITTSBURGH --- Carlow University men's basketball lost a 69-53 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference contest to Penn State Behrend at Donahue Pavilion Saturday night.

Clayton Cook (Brookville, Pa./Brookville Area HS) shot 5 for 5 from the foul line and led the Celtics with 17 points. Jimmy Giannetta (Pittsburgh, Pa./Saint Joseph HS) added 15 points, two assists and a steal.

Carlow (1-9, 1-1 AMCC) tied the game several times early on, with a layup from Cook bringing the score even at 10-all before a Lions three-pointer set off a 12-2 run over the span of 4:15 that gave Behrend a 10-point advantage.

Cook scored the next eight points in a row for Carlow, with the Celtics still trailing by 13 late in the first half. Tomasi Pavihi (Wellington, New Zealand/St. Mary's Ryken HS/College of Marin) landed the final basket of the half, with the Lions (5-3, 2-0 AMCC) taking an 11-point lead into halftime.

A trey right out of the gate from Giannetta and another layup from Pavihi cut Behrend's lead to single digits to start the second half.

Behrend strung together a 17-4 run to go ahead, 55-34, midway through. Neither team would score for over two minutes later in the half, but the Lions maintained a double-digit lead over Carlow until the very end.

The Celtics shot 85.7 percent (12 for 14) from the charity stripe on the night. Behrend outrebounded Carlow 41-22 and shot slightly better from the field at 46.4 percent (26 for 56).

Jacob Dunkle led the Lions with a double-double, game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds. Nate Edwards also tallied a double-double with 11 points and 12 boards, and Dolan Waldo added 11 points.

The Celtics host La Roche University for a 7 p.m. game at Donahue Pavilion Dec. 10.