MEDAILLE, LA ROCHE ADVANCE TO MEN'S BASKETBALL TITLE GAME

Top seeded Medaille College will meet #3 La Roche College at 1pm Sunday in the finals of the AMCC men's basketball tournament.  The winner will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.

Jumping out 46-28 at the half, the host Mavericks cruised to a 91-77 victory over #4 Penn St. Altoona.  The Lions actually outscored the Mavs, 49-45, in the second stanza but could not make a significant enough dent in Medaille's lead.  The Mavericks were led by a balanced scoring attack, as four players put up double digit points, most notably junior forward Mike Hollenbeck (26 points, 12 rebounds) and junior guard Justice Fagan (22 points and 6 assists).  

The Lions got another standout effort from senior guard/forward Javon Wilson, who led all scorers with 31 points.  Junior guard/forward Ishimeal Nance also contributed 22 points and 6 boards.

La Roche also coasted to a berth in the finals, with a 75-50 upset win over #2 Penn St. Behrend.  Led by sophomore guard Ray Quan Phifer ( 20 points, 4 rebounds) and junior forward Arnes Bajgora (14 points, 6 rebounds), the Redhawks avenged a pair of regular season losses to the Lions.  

Behrend had strong contributions from sophomore guard Andy Niland (10 points, 2 assists) and sophomore guard Mike Fischer (10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals).

Medaille is striving for their fifth AMCC crown.  Their last title came in 2015.  La Roche is the winner of two championships, most recently in 2011.