PITTSBURGH, PA -- The La Roche men's basketball team closed their regular season schedule with an 85-75 victory over D'Youville. They improve to 19-6 and 16-2 in the AMCC. Both are their second hightest toals in program history.

La Roche are champions of the AMCC Conference and will host the conference tournament on February 24-25. Penn State Behrend, Penn State Altoona, Hilbert, Medaille, and Mt. Aloysius have also secured spots in the tournament.

Both teams shot the ball well and the Redhawks carried a 51-40 lead into halftime. La Roche's guard play was excellent as Trell Thomas and Zach Gould guided them through the first half. Thomas entered intermission with 15 points and 3 steals while Gould contributed 10 points. They also combined to hit 4 of 5 three-pointers.

The Spartans chipped away at the lead in the second half. They used a 12-2 run to close the gap to two with 7:22 left to play. D'Youville maintained a single digit deficit until 1:29 when Thomas nailed a big three at the top of the key.

D'Youville attempted to lengthen the game with fouls. Gould denied the Spartans a chance, hitting 6 of 6 free throws in the final minute.

Thomas finished with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals. Gould picked up 19 points and 4 assists while Bajgora had 19 points and 8 boards.

The Redhawks cooled in the second half but shot a respectable 39% (29 of 74) for the game. They outrebounded D'Youville 44-38 including 19-9 on the offensive glass.

La Roche won the turnover battle and gave the ball away just seven times.

The Redhawks will play in an AMCC Semifinal game next Saturday at 1pm. They will find out their opponent after quarterfinal games are played next Wednesday.