Page 14 Lions' season winding down by Joe Mottillo Collegian Staff After a recent turnaround in play, the Behrend men's basketball team has hit a rough road. Starting with their game on February 9 with Daemen, the Lions have dropped two of their Last three games. The Lions got their lone win of the slump against Keuka on February 13. The Lions outplayed Keuka, 13-9, in nearly all aspects of the game. The Lions got the advantage early on as they raced out to a 42- 34 halftime lead on 50% shooting. Keuka battled back as they tied to get back in the game in a hurry as they fired up 22 three point attempts. Behrend was too much as they won 91-81. Todd Sturgin led a balanced scoring attack as he hit for 25 points on 9 of 14 shooting. He also collected 12 rebounds and Quiet leader by Greg Kristen Collegian Staff "She's the quietest leader on the f100r... she'll put the shot in, she'll take shots no one expects her to take, she'll run up the floor, and she'll steal and do the right thing," said Coach Roz Fornari about Athlete of the Week, Michelle Grover. Grover averaged 12.5 points, 3.5 steals, 9.5 rebounds and was 11-13 from the foul line in two of the toughest games of the year for the Lady Lions last week. For the season, Grover is averaging 8.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. In the process, she has been one of the key ingredients to the Lady Lions' 18-5 record. Fornari said, "She's always there, always prepared. She is the stabilizer on the floor." Michelle is a fourth year player from Sugar Grove, PA. She played two years of varsity ball at Eisenhower High School and was then recruited to Behrend. She feels her strengths are playing defense and being able to pass the ball well. Coach Fornari said, "If I have to take Wendy (Ebinger) out of the game, Michelle Grover has to be out there." Michelle is a communication major and plans on graduating in the spring. She plans on attending Edinboro University for graduate school to pursue elementary guidance counseling. two blocked shots Byron Thorne played a great overall game as he added 21 points with six assists and three steals. Rob Hunt contributed 17 points and a team leading 16 rebounds. "You're only good as your last performance," said Coach Chris Gilmartin of the Lions' performance on Sunday. He added, "It was a very good win for us. We lost to them in the beginning of the season. Our inside game of Hunt and Sturgin really played well." On Saturday, the Lions played the 16-2 Presidents of Washington and Jefferson. The Lions hung with the Prexies early by only being down by five at the half, 35-30. W&J added to their lead in the second half as they won 81-65. On February 9, the Lions travelled to Daemen to take on the Warriors. The game was tight as the Warriors had a 36-35 lead. Jen Colvin IMO" Coordinator ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Going over the top of Wahington & Jefferson College's center, Michelle Grover puts the ball up for two. The Warriors were on the warpath as they increased their lead and won 79-68. Behrend was outrebounded 47-31 with the big advantage on the defensive glass, 40-26. Thorne had the big game for Behrend as he had 29 points and ten rebounds. Thorne continues to lead the Lions in scoring as he has 533 points on the season for 23.2 ppg. He is also contributing 4.2 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game. He's shooting .56% from the field on the season. Hunt is the team's leading reboundix as he is averaging eight per gam• "Unfortunately their will be no postseason for this team, but you won't find a team in the East wanting to come in here and play us," said Gilmartin. The Lions next play on Saturday at Hilbert, who they lost to earlier in the season. Holly Beary/Phob Coordinaler ONE ON ONE: All alone against a Washington & Jefferson College guard, Todd Sturgeon shoots from the top of the key. Almost there by Greg Kristen Collegial Ssigr The Lady Lions have all but assured themselves of an NCAA playoff berth with two big wins this past week against Allegheny College and Washington and Jefferson. At home on Monday night, the Lady Lions playing against the Lady Gators of Allegheny, got off to a shaky start. They missed their first four shots and struggled early. The teams played a lot of defense and the game was tight the whole first half. Coach Roz Fornari said, "Once again I think we played like we were really afraid to lose the game." She continued, "It's the little things we do wrong. When we're hesitant we won't board well, we won't shoot well. We'll hesitate shooting and we'll get beat." The Lady Lions fought through their play and gained a 36-33 lead with seconds remaining, when Allegheny hit a buzzer shot to tie the game 36-36 at halftime. Not pleased by the first half performance of her team Coach Fornari went in and told them to go out and play their game. In the second half the Lady Cagers stepped up and showed their experience and maturity. Coach Fornari said, "Our defense really pulled through in the second half." The Lady Lions outscored the Lady Gators 43-35 in the second half and the five startinl seniors Thursday, February 17, 1994 all reached double figures. The Lady Lions secured the game and won 79-71. Leading the way for the Lady Lions was Anne Bonner with 18 pts., while Heather Shearer netted 15 and Wendy Ebinger, Michelle Grover and Becky Swartz each chipped in 12. Last Saturday, senior night for the Lady Lions was the night for the seniors to shine. The Lady Lions entrenched in one of the biggest battles of their basketball careers, showcased their abilities and heart in playing their gutsiest game in Erie Hall. In the first half, it was a defensive delight as the Lady Lions and Lady Presidents showed their defensive tenacity. The Lady Lions playing a little shaky, trailing by as many as 14, regained their composure to cut the lead at halftime to 31-28. In the second half, the Lady Lions clawed back and forth with the Lady Presidents until the experience of the five seniors prevailed on their night. With just under two minutes to go in the game, and holding on to a 4 point lead the tide turned over as Michelle Grover picked up her second and biggest steal of the game. The Lady Lions went up by 5 before the Lady Presidents made one last effort to win. The Lady Lions stopped them and the two point 67-65 victory was a senior night win.
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