PITTSBURGH, Pa. – La Roche men's basketball survived a near comeback effort by #4 seed Pitt-Greensburg in the AMCC Tournament semifinal with a 81-76 victory Friday night.
In the opening 1:10, the Redhawks fell behind 5-0, but quickly responded with a 12-2 run to grab a 12-7 lead with 15:23 remaining in the half.
Over the next couple minutes, the score sat at 14-11 in favor of La Roche, who then popped off on the offensive end, using a 13-2 run to open a 27-14 lead with 7:36 to go.
With 3:15 remaining in the opening half, the Bobcats cut the deficit to 33-26, but the Redhawks would score the final five points of the opening 20 minutes to take a 38-26 lead into the break.
Out of the locker room, La Roche kept the fire rolling, behind three consecutive three-pointers by Joe Starzynski and a run of 14-3 in the first 3:01 to open a 52-29 lead.
Despite the deficit, the Bobcats never backed down, using the next 13 minutes to trim a large deficit down to single digits with 3:15 remaining.
Next thing you could see, was Pitt-Greensburg down 77-74 with 1:45 remaining.
La Roche with 11 seconds left still had a 79-76 lead, but after the made free-throw, the ensuing inbound pass was thrown away by the Bobcats, allowing the Redhawks to seal the victory.
For the game, La Roche shot 45.2% (28-for-62) from the floor and 13-for-32 (40.6%) from deep. From the charity stripe, they went 12-for-21 (57.1%).
On the other side, the Bobcats went on to shoot 48.3% (29-for-60) from the field, 7-for-20 (35%) from deep and 64.7% (11-for-17) from the foul line.
Three Redhawks went on to score in double figures, with Starzynski serving as the catalyst.
Starzynski put together a 24-point performance, alongside nine rebounds, four assists, three steals and four blocks.
Bryce Epps followed with 15 points and five rebounds, while Frank Stumpo scored 11 off the bench behind a trio of triples.
La Roche moves into the AMCC Championship game and faces #2 Penn State Behrend, tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 24 at 5 p.m. inside the Kerr Fitness Center.