ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team earned its first-ever regular season sweep of Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Penn State Behrend on Saturday afternoon, when the Lions pulled off a 76-69 victory in overtime in the Adler Arena.

With the win, Penn State Altoona (15-7, 11-1 AMCC) extended its program-record win streak to 10 in a row while keeping pace with La Roche University atop the AMCC standings. Today's results set up a showdown between Penn State Altoona and La Roche this Wednesday, February 15 at 7:00 p.m. in Adler Arena that will decide the number one seed and hosting duties for the upcoming AMCC postseason tournament.

In addition to its significance in the conference standings, Saturday's game took on further special meaning for the Lions, as the program recognized its three senior players, guard/forward Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) and guards Saivon Word (Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglass) and Robbie Hicks (Melbourne, FL/Rockledge), in a pregame senior day ceremony.

Saturday's contest was a neck-and-neck affair throughout. Penn State Behrend (10-13, 5-7 AMCC) led by 10 points midway through the first half, but Penn State Altoona worked its way in front and held a lead late in the second half. Behrend rallied to force overtime, but the Lions outscored the visitors 9-2 in the extra period to pull out a win.

"What an amazing day to be a Penn State Altoona Lion. It was a great atmosphere, great crowd, great cause [Sideline Cancer Recognition Day], and most importantly, a great result. Hats off to Coach [Dave] Niland and Behrend. They came out with a great game plan and executed early and often and punched us in the mouth," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "We stayed resilient and stayed together and kept our heads, and we were led by our seniors, who were not going to go out with a loss on senior day."

Hicks tied for the team lead in scoring, finishing with 16 points while grabbing three rebounds and nabbing a pair of steals. Word finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, and Harman totaled 11 points, five rebounds, and a team-best four assists.

Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) also scored 16 points for Penn State Altoona while securing nine rebounds, and PJ Charles (Altoona, PA/Altoona) brought in a game-high 10 rebounds.

Behrend got a game-high 34 points from Tommy DiRienzo, while Mason Blankenberg contributed 12 points and six assists.

Behrend started the game by earning an early advantage on the scoreboard. Midway through the first half, DiRienzo provided an 8-0 run himself to give the visitors a 21-11 lead at 9:42. A Mason Bush (Pittsburgh, PA/Seneca Valley) three-pointer helped cut Penn State Altoona's deficit to five with five minutes to go, but back-to-back layups from Blankenberg got Behrend's lead back to nine, 29-20. The Lions again closed the gap to three following Jones' putback dunk and foul shot at 3:19, but Behrend increased its lead back to five points, 34-29, by halftime.

Penn State Altoona scored the first five points of the second half, getting a three-pointer from Hicks and layup from Charles to even the score 34-34. Harman's trey at 15:53 kept the score knotted, 37-37, as did another dunk from Jones at the 10:35 mark that made it 45-45. Alex McClellan (York, PA/West York) hit a three-pointer at 9:05 to put Penn State Altoona on top, 48-45, and Jahmar White (Yigo, Guam/St. Paul Christian School) sank a pair of foul shots at 8:30 to boost the home team's lead to five.

Behrend trimmed its deficit to one, following a Matt Niland three-pointer at 5:21. But Hicks answered with a three of his own 19 seconds later, then made a trio of foul shots at 4:16 following a foul on his three-point attempt, increasing his team's lead to 59-52. Harman's jump shot with three minutes left in the period kept the Lions' advantage at seven, 61-54.

The visitors again cut into the Lions' lead, using a Matthew McDonough jumper and DiRienzo three-pointer to narrow the difference to two, 61-59, by the 1:53 mark. Another DiRienzo three-pointer and layup put Behrend within one, 65-64, with 27 seconds to play. Harman made two free throws shortly thereafter to get Penn State Altoona's lead back to three, but RJ Marsh sank a three-pointer at the 15-second mark to bring Behrend even with the Lions, 67-67. A last-second shot attempt by Penn State Altoona did not fall, and the teams proceeded to overtime.

Penn State Altoona and Behrend traded baskets from Harman and Blankenberg within the first minute of overtime to keep the score tied, 69-69. But the Lions held Behrend off of the scoreboard the rest of the way, while getting a jumper from Harman and five free throws by Word to end up with a seven-point win.

"We found our groove in the second half offensively and tightened up defensively and were able to control the boards, which always is a big deal in a game like this. Even after we thought we had it in regulation, we didn't panic. We stayed the course and locked down defensively in the extra session to secure a win," said McGreal. "Now, we are one win away from clinching not only another regular season conference title, but also solidifying hosting the tournament for the first time ever."

Penn State Altoona men's basketball will host La Roche in Adler Arena this Wednesday, February 15 at 7:00 p.m. It will be the Lions' final regular season home game of the season, with a shot to host the AMCC playoffs.