1 0 BEHREND BEACON
February 5, 2010
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Junior forward Chris Saltzman led the Lions in scoring with 18 points in a close loss to the Medaille Mavericks
Lions fall to Medaille again, 76-74
SEAN NEELY
An energetic crowd that gave
the feel of a playoff game per
meated the atmosphere at the
Junker Center during a confer
ence showdown between the
Penn State Behrend Lions and
the Medaille Mavericks.
Early on in the season,
Medaille squeezed by Behrend
to earn one of their 15 wins in
the conference.
For Behrend, this was a game
of revenge, and sophomore Pat
St. Andrews, who missed the
game with an injury, defended
his team.
"We feel like we are the bet
ter team, and we want to show
that tonight," St. Andrews said.
"We are ready."
It showed, as Behrend got off
to a very poised and confident
beginning to the game.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
1 anielle Wilson splashes her way to AOTW honors
ELESE MERKOVSKY
If pt)rtet
At age seven, Danielle Wilson
found herself making her first
splash in the sport of swim
ming. Fourteen years later she
still finds her
self making
waves as a key
role with
Behrend's
swim team
"My personal goals
would be to enjoy
the last few weeks
and spend as much
time as possible with
my team."
Wilson has
been a mem
ber of the
Behrend swim
team for the
past four years
and has been
recognized as
Enterprise's
Athlete of the
Week for her
success in the past three meets
Wilson competed against
Pitt-Bradford, Grove City and
Mount Union in the past week.
Wilson was a part of the 200-
yard freestyle relay team that
took first place with a time of 1
minute, 49 seconds, in the tri
meet with Pitt-Bradford and
Grove City along with a third
place finish in the 500 yard
freestyle with a time of 5:46.98.
Wilson was back in the pool
for Behrend on Saturday, in a
meet against Mount Union.
The first half saw momentum
shift between both teams.
~ tatf ritet
However, it was Behrend who
jumped out to a 10-5 lead
within the first five minutes.
Both Behrend and Medaille
had strong offensive efforts,
particularly early, as both teams
showcased their "off-the-ball"
movement and fast transition.
Medaille would gain momen
tum late, as fouls would take
some momentum away from
Behrend. But Behrend was able
to hold on to a 42-38 lead going
into half-time.
The second half cued early
fouls, as both sides could not
seem to handle one another's
offense.
Medaille even showed signs
of being worn out 10 minutes
into the second half.
The final minute drew mas
sive dramatics to end the game,
as both sides took key time
outs to stop each other's mo-
Finally, with 6:50 left to go in mentum.
However, fouls by Behrend
would key the momentum to
Medaille's favor.
Wilson took a first place fin
ish in the 500-yard freestyle
with a first place time of
5:45.25.
Wilson teamed up in the 400-
yard freestyle relay to take first
place with a time of 4:00.93.
Wilson's love for the sport
started at a young age when
her parents
first took her
to the pool on
a regular
Danielle Wilson
parents con
tinued to sup
port her love
of swimming, attending her
meets and driving her to and
from demanding hours of swim
practice.
"The most supportive people
in my swimming career have
been my parents. They are al
ways at my meets and have al
ways been there to take me to
practice and meets," Wilson
said.
Wilson knows a thing or two
about the how demanding the
life of a swimmer is. Not only
is she working to get her de-
the second half, Behrend would
surrender their steady lead for
the first time.
The final five minutes of the
game showcased both sides,
who put in astounding bits of
effort.
This lead to a very dramatic
ending to the game. Medaille's
Chris Moscato would hit a
clutch 3-point shot with 4:20
left to go in regulation.
However, this shot would not
seal the deal, as Behrend would
prove to be resilient, much like
they had all game.
Constant lead changes would
occur within the last three min
utes of the game.
Junior Justin Kovac hit two
key lay ups to keep Behrend in
the game.
H e r
mother was a
swimmer, and
Wilson
quickly fell in
love with
being in the
water.
H e r
gree in psychology, she is put
through hours of practice both
before and after classes.
Most college kids dread the
idea of rolling out of bed for an
8 a.m., but swimmers like
Danielle are used to getting up
and being in the pool at 6 a.m.
in hopes of getting more prac
tice time.
"The worst part about swim-
Danielle Wilson gives credit to her parents for supporting her throughout her entire swimming career and being at every meet.
Unfortunately for Behrend,
Medaille hit a key 3-point shot
with 22 seconds to go.
Behrend, within 10 seconds,
battled back and tied the game
up. A foul with 2.8 seconds left
paved the way for Mike
Berkum and Medaille to capi
talize on the late late foul, and
win 76-74.
It was a tough loss for
Behrend, but their effort and
resilency showed, as an un
lucky bounce led the way to
their loss.
"Tonight our offense was
good, but our defense needs to
step up," Behrend senior Adam
Kaiser said. "We will see
[Medaille] later in the playoffs."
Behrend will look ahead to
their next game against Pitt-
Greensburg on Friday, and
their long awaited crack at
Medaille for a third time.
ming is always being tired,"
Wilson said.
Wilson and the Behrend
Lions will compete in one more
meet on Feb. 15 at Edinboro be
fore the AMCC Championship.
Championships will be held
at Grove City College. Feb. 17
will be the date for the AMCC
Diving Championships while
February 18-20 will be the dates
AMCC Sports Standings
MEN'S BASKETBALL
AMCC Overall Strk
Medaille 15-1 20-1 W 7
Pitt-Bradford 12-3 12-8 W 9
Penn St. Behrend 10-4 13-5 LI.
Frostburg State 9-6 12-7 Wtl
Mount Aloysius 9-6 11-8 W 3
Pitt-Greensburg 7-8 9-11 W 2
La Roche 7-9 10-11 L 3
Penn St. Altoona 7-9 9-12 LI
Franciscan 4-12 5-15 LI
D'Youville 3-11 5-14 L 2
Hilbert 1-14 2-18 L 5
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
AMCC Overall Strk
Medaille 16-0 19-2 W 9
Pitt-Greensburg 12-3 14-6 WS
Frostburg St. 12-3 15-5 W 4
Penn St. Altoona 11-5 16-5 LI
La Roche 9-7 11-10 LI
Penn St. Behrend 7-7 9-9 L 2
Pitt-Bradford 7-8 7-13 W 1
D'Youville 4-11 4-15 LI
Mount Aloysius 4-11 5-14 W 1
Franciscan 2-14 2-18 Ll
Hilbert 0-15 0-20 L2O
SWIMMING AND DIVING
Women's Overall
Penn St. Behrend 6-4
Pitt-Bradford 3-6
Frostburg St. 3-9
Penn St. Altoona 3-9
Men's Overall
Penn St. Behrend 5-4
Pitt-Bradford 5-7
Frostburg St. 4-5
Penn St. Altoona 3-5
for the AMCC swimming cham
pionships.
As Wilson reaches the final
weeks of her career as a swim
mer for Behrend, she tries to
spend as much time as she can
with her teammates, who are
also her closest friends.
The team has built a very
close bond, and Wilson enjoys
being with her team even
orts
through the rough early morn
ing practices.
"My personal goals would be
to enjoy the last few weeks and
spend as much time as possible
with the team," Wilson said.
"My favorite part about swim
ming for Behrend was the
team. I love hanging out with
all of them, and they are my
best friends."