Page 10
The Behrend Beacon
Men's basketball team rolls through conference play
Lions maintain undefeated AMCC record, rising to 8-0
by C.J. lannini
staff writer
Usually during this time of the year with a big
AMCC Conference game against Pitt-Bradford on
the line, fans can expect a nail-biter right down to
the finish. That wasn't the case Wednesday night
as the Behrend men's basketball team rolled over
Bradford 69-52.
The Lions (18-1; 8-0) have pushed their winning
streak to II games, with their last loss dating back
to Dec. 29. They've recently earned a spot in this
week's Division 111 Top 25 National Poll coming
in at No. 22. according to D3Hoops.com.
Leading the way Wednesday night was the Lion's
aggressive defense which only allowed 15 points
in the first half.
"Really good team defense was our strategy for
this game. Excellent team defense and working
hard helped ensure the win tonight," said head coach
Dave Niland.
The Lions, who lead the AMCC in team scoring
defense, giving up only 51.5 points per game, forced
13 turnovers and held Bradford to 33 percent in
shooting from the floor.
On the offensive side of the ball, James Curren
led all Behrend scorers with 30 points, seven
rebounds and two assists. Curren was the coaches'
selection as Preseason AMCC Player of the Year.
He currently is still in the hunt to win this award
which he held last season.
Casey Ponsoll also reached double digits in
scorin • as he added 15 .• ints and three rebounds.
Women's basketball team
dominates AMCC play
by Ray Immekus
staff writer
The Lady Lions went 2-0 last week, beating ri
vals Penn State Altoona and Pitt-Bradford in con
vincing fashion. With the two victories, Behrend
now holds a 15-5 record, with a 7-1 mark in the
Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.
The Lady Lions have now wonls of their last
17 games after starting off the season with 1-3
record.
Behrend is currently tied with Pitt-Greensburg
for first place in the AMCC. The ladies lost to Pitt-
Greensburg on Jan. 28 by a score of 72-71. A
rematch between these two teams is scheduled for
Feb. 21 at the Junker Center.
Freshman guard Brittany Mays was named to this
week's Best of the Rest list in the AMCC. She av
eraged 10 points and six rebounds in Behrend's two
wins last week. Mays is currently 10th in the AMCC
in scoring with 11.1 points per game.
Fellow freshman and forward Tenesha Aden is
fourth, averaging 12.8 points per game.
Behrend's week began with a Saturday night
game at rival Penn State Altoona. The Lady Lions
were ready for the game, shooting 55.2 percent from
the field, and hitting 55.6 percent from the three
point arc in the first half,while allowing Altoona to
hit on just six of 22 shots. Behrend led 40-23 at the
break.
Behrend's shooting cooled off slightly in the sec
ond half, dropping to a still impressive 45.5 per
cent, but the chances of any comeback by Altoona
was nonexistent, and the Lady Lions finished with
a 72-50 win.
Four Behrend players scored in double figures,
led by Aden with 19 points and six rebounds. Nikki
Pacinelli added 14 points and three assists, Mays
had 10 points, six rebounds and three assists and
Amber Krumpe contributed I I points, three re
bounds and four assists.
No Altoona players reached double figures. The
team made only 17 of 52 of shots in the game.
Pitt-Bradford paid a visit to Junker and the
Lady Lions on Wednesday night for a televised
conference match-up.
Bradford entered the game with a 6-12 record
and a 3-4 conference mark. Bradford's record, how-
ever, did not mirror how close it played Behrend
on Wednesday night.
Both teams shot well in the first half, 61.1 per
cent for Bradford, and 40 .ercent for Behrend, but
Housing & Food Service
Athlete
of the
Week Casey Ponsoll
SPORTS
With their wins against Penn State Altoona and Pitt-Bradford, the Lions entered the
Division 111 Top 25 national poll on D3Hoops.com at no. 22
With this, Ponsoll is narrowing in on
for his Behrend career. With on! five
Nikki Pacinelli had 14 points and three
assists in the Lady Lions victory over
Altoona on Saturday.
the Lady Lions went into halftime with the one point
lead, 27-26.
Behrend built on its lead in the second half,
outscoring Bradford 31-23 on the Lions' way to
58-49 victory. Mays, senior guard Carly Cochran,
and junior guard Bambi Lewis all scored 10 points.
Pacinelli added five assists, and Mays had five re
bounds.
Behrend next travels to Frostburg State on Sat
urday, and then return home for a game against Lake
Erie College on Wednesday. Both of these are con
ference !ames.
Friday, February 6, 2004
1,000 points
ames left in
the season, all he needs is 20 more points to achieve
this feat.
Senior Spotlight: Brian Pratt
Senior Brian Pratt talks about running for
Behrend and his love for flying.
by Lauren Packer
editor in chief
Name: Brian Pratt
Sport: Indoor/Outdoor Track & Field
Event: 200 meter dash, 4X200 meter relay, 400
meter, 4X400 relay
Major: Psychology
Semester: I 0
Hometown/High School: Seneca/Cranberry High
School
Favorite food: Seafood
Favorite movie: Comedies/Action
Beacon: What is your best sports memory while
at Behrend?
Pratt: It had to be the training trip to Florida and
the cross-country trip to Chicago.
Beacon: What is your best memory outside of
athletics?
Pratt: It would probably be the training trip to
Florida when I was a freshman. Getting to know
my teammates a lot better and becoming closer with
them was a lot of fun. It was a really great time
since we don't take long trips like that very often.
Beacon: What are your plans for after
graduation?
Pratt: I don't have anything set in stone as of right
now. I'm thinking about taking a year or two off
SPORT: MEN'S
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PONSOLL AVERAGED
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THE LIONS. IN HIS
BREAKOUT GAME
AGAINST PITT
GREENSBURG, PONSOL.
Kevin Fiorenzo & Amy Frizzell,
"We have five more games left. I'm really looking
to earn that 1,000 in the two games we have left at
home. It's not a real concern to me; I'm just out
there trying to get the win for our team," said
Ponsoll.
Five other Behrend players contributed to the
team score, with Justin Jennings and Joe Lucas
scoring seven points each and Tom Lulich and Jared
Clough scoring five.
The Lions dominated the first half, leading in all
statistical team categories, and headed into the
locker room at halftime with a 16-point lead.
"The first half we set the tone, our defense played
real well and we kept Bradford in check," said
Curren.
The onslaught of the first half had the large crowd
at the game yelling and cheering their team on. The
fan support could definitely be felt throughout the
first half.
"We always like playing at home, and with big
crowds it adds to the intensity of the game," said
Ponsoll.
The second half produced the same results as the
first. The only scare came with 7:34 left in the game,
as Bradford began to make a run and narrowed the
score to 11. Dan Thomas led all Bradford scorers
with 13, but this wasn't enough as the Lions kicked
it into second gear and increased their lead to 17 to
secure the win.
Behrend will travel to Frostburg on Saturday to
play the Bobcats. The Lions won the first meeting
between these teams, with a final score of 57-46.
Beacon: Is there anything over the course of
your career at Behrend that you would like to
go back and redo?
Pratt: Not really. Of course I would have liked to
do better in some classes, maybe not taken some of
the ones I did, taken a few that I didn't. Overall, I
didn't always make the right decisions, but I learned
from what went wrong and how to correct it.
Beacon: What is a little known fact about you
or little known talent that you possess?
Pratt: I like to water ski and fly planes. I've been
taking flying lessons for a little bit.
Beacon: Who or what got you interested in flying
planes?
Pratt: I've always loved planes and I just started
taking lessons in the past couple of years. My step
dad is also interested in planes and flying them.
Beacon: What is the part of practice that you
like the least?
Pratt: The part that I like the least is when we run
300 s. Sprinting the lengths of campus parking lots
isn't very fun.
Beacon: What is the part that you like the most?
Pratt: I like it when you know and feel like you
had a hard workout. You know you can walk away
with knowing that you did well.
Beacon: How do you deal with not getting
"burnt out," doing both indoor and outdoor
track?
Pratt: It's tough. I guess you just have to go with
what the coaches say. You have to ease into it with
pre-season workouts and then towards the end of
the season we taper off.
Beacon: How hard is it knowing that you can
never have a home meet because Behrend is
without a track?
Pratt: It was rough at first because I was used to
having a track in high school. You just have to get
used to it. Season after season you have to accept
the fact that there is no track and go from there.
Beacon: Do you think that not having a track
hurts the recruiting process for your team?
Pratt: Definitely. I'm sure it doesn't help.
Especially when we tell them, yeah, we have meets,
but no, none of them are at home. Plus, we run on
OR THE BLUE
WILL BE AN
'ERENCE GAME
RG STATE ON
'RDAY