ERIE, Pa. – Powered by an 18-point lead heading to halftime, the Thiel College men's basketball team held off a late charge by the Penn State Behrend Lions to win 76-69 in the 2016 regular season opener on the road Tuesday at the Junker Center.
 
Clandell Cetoute (Wellington, Fla./Wellington) netted a double-double for the Tomcats. Cetoute tallied 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting and pulled down 13 rebounds. Cetoute also blocked four shots.
 
Tyreik Burton (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) led all Tomcat scorers with 19 points while Josh Lumbus (Cleveland, Ohio/John Hay) and Alonzo Brown (Largo, Fla./Pinellas Park) recorded 13 and 12 points respectively.
 
The Lions tied up the game at 69 when Malquan Pullium knocked down one of his two free throws but a three-pointer by Brown and free throws by Cetoute and Lumbus sealed the game for the Tomcats.
 
The Tomcats shot an even 50-percent from the field (27 of 54), outrebounded the Lions (38-31) and also dominated the paint with 40 of their 76 points coming from the key.
 
Andy Niland led the Lions with a game-high 21 points while Justin Gorny had 16 points.
 
The Tomcats (1-0) will participate in the Buzz Ridl Classic this weekend at Wesminster College. The Tomcats will open the Classic on Friday taking on the Penn State Beaver Lions. The action is slated to begin at 6 p.m.