MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TIPS OFF WEDNESDAY EVENING

The AMCC men's basketball tournament will tip off Wednesday evening when #6 Medaille College travels to #3 Pitt-Greensburg and #5 Pitt-Bradford goes to #4 La Roche College. #1 Hilbert College and #2 Penn St. Behrend will each receive first round byes. Hilbert claimed their second regular season championship and will be looking for their first AMCC tournament championship title. 

#1 Hilbert saw themselves sitting in the #2 spot of the conference standings for the majority of the season until they snuck into the top slot in the last week of the regular season. The Hawks feature AMCC Preseason Player of the Year, senior forward Jerame Owens, who averages 15.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Owens is second in the league with a 59.3 field goal percentage. Senior guard Sean Weisansal is fourth with 109 assists.

Entering the tournament at the #2 seed is Penn St. Behrend who is led by senior forward Zane Hackett. Hackett leads the conference with a 63.8 field goal percentage and also averages a double-double with 17.2 points (5th in AMCC) and 10.6 rebounds (3rd in AMCC) per game. Freshman guard Andy Niland has been hot from long range all season, as he is tops in the conference with a 43.1 three-point field goal percentage.

#3 Pitt-Greensburg will look to senior wingman Rocco Contristano to lead them offensively, as he currently sits third in the conference with 18.3 points per game. Senior forward Marcus Thomas has been a force on the boards all season as he is second in the conference with 10.8 rebounds per game. 

#4 La Roche is looking to build upon and continue an impressive turnaround season. After finishing the 2014-15 season with one conference win and a last place finish, the Redhawks have only looked forward and have secured the #4 seed in this year's tournament. Sophomore forward, and 2015 AMCC Newcomer of the Year, Arnes Bajgora leads the Redhawks with 15.4 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game.

#5 Pitt-Bradford boasts the top two scorers, and the top rebounder, in the league. Junior forward Evan Greening holds the top spot in both categories, averaging 20.4 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. Senior guard Eric Matheson is second in the AMCC with 19.8 points per game.

2015 AMCC tournament champion, Medaille College, rounds out the tournament as the #6 seed. Junior guard Johnathan Belton leads the Mavericks with 15.1 points per game, while sophomore forward Mike Hollenbeck brings in 7.9 rebounds a game for the Mavs.

MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT BRACKET

First Round: Wednesday, February 24, 2016

#6 Medaille at #3 Pitt-Greensburg, 7pm
#5 Pitt-Bradford at #4 La Roche, 7pm
#1 Hilbert College (bye)
#2 Penn St. Behrend (bye) 

Championship Round at Hilbert College
Semifinals: Saturday, February 27, 2016
1:00pm:  #1 Hilbert vs. winner of 4v5
3:30pm:  #2 Penn St. Behrend vs. winner of 3v6

Finals: Sunday, February 28, 2016 - 1:00 p.m.