BEHREND EARNS TOP SEED, HOSTING RIGHTS IN MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
With a 15-1 conference record, Penn State Behrend claimed the regular season championship and hosting rights to the 2026 AMCC men's basketball championship tournament. First round games tip off Tuesday evening with #3 La Roche University hosting #6 Alfred State College and #4 Hilbert College hosting #5 Penn State Altoona. #1 Behrend and #2 Pitt-Greensburg will each receive first round byes. Tournament semifinals will take place on Friday evening with the championship game set for Saturday at 5pm at Penn State Behrend's Junker Center.
Top seed Penn State Behrend enters the tournament looking for their first conference title since 2019. The Lions are led by freshman forward Jacob Dunkle who averages 16.6 points per game in conference play to go along with 7.9 rebounds and nine blocks on the season. Senior guard Matthew McDonough adds 11.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, while Nate Edwards and Mason Blankenberg are right behind him with 11.0 points per game a piece. Edwards also adds 5.1 rebounds while Blankenberg chips in with 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
With a 13-3 record in AMCC play, Pitt-Greensburg enters the tournament as the #2 seed. Senior forward Trent Rozich leads the Bobcats with 18.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while also adding 76 assists and 23 steals. Senior guard Jackson Byer adds 14.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game to go along with 31 steals on the season. Matthew Marinchak and Michael Bigley round out the double digit scorers for the Bobcats with 11.3 and 10.5 points per game, respectively.
La Roche carries a 12-4 mark in conference play, coming in as the #3 seed. The Redhawks are led offensively by sophomore forward Major Rainey and junior guard Bryce Epps. Rainey averaged 18.8 points points per game in AMCC play to go along with 6.8 rebounds and a conference-leading 28 blocks. Epps averages 16.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game with 36 assists and 21 steals. Sophomore Logan Golle adds 12.3 points points per game to go along with 42 assists, to the Redhawk offense. Sophomore guard Cooper Rankin averages 11.6 points while ranking second in the conference with 76 assists and seventh with 23 steals.
With a 8-8 conference record, Hilbert enters the tournament as the #4 seed. Junior forward Larry Morse leads the way for the Hawks, ranking second in the AMCC in points (18.9 ppg) and third in rebounds (8.6) in conference play, while sitting atop of the conference with a 62.8 field goal percentage. Freshman guard Ari Jones averages 10.4 points for the Hawks. Junior guard Jayden Montgomery sits second in all of NCAA Division III with 6.9 assists per game while also contributing 8.5 points and 4.9 rebounds to go along with 28 steals and 10 blocks on the season. Freshman guard Ne'Sean Fowlks adds 8.5 points per game and ranks fourth in the conference with 12 blocks this season.
Entering the tournament with a 7-9 record is #5 Penn State Altoona. The Lions are led by senior guard Kaden Claar, who averages 16.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while ranking second in the AMCC with 41 steals in conference play. Sophomore guard Rasheed Daniels averages 14.5 points while junior G/F Braelen Cage chips in with 10.8 points per game.
Rounding out the field is sixth seed Alfred State, coming in with a 5-11 record in AMCC play. Mykell Lawson leads the Pioneers offensively with 17.2 points per game in conference play, while also adding 39 assists and 25 steals. Sophomore guard Darius Cunningham adds 14.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game
AMCC Tournament Schedule
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
7pm #6 Alfred State at #3 La Roche University
7pm #5 Penn State Altoona at #4 Hilbert College
2026 AMCC Men's Basketball Champions apparel will be available in the AMCC Store for a limited time immeditately following the conclusion of the championship! Championship apparel will be available for approximately three weeks following each championship tournament.