Penn State Behrend Head Men’s Basketball coach Dave Niland earned his 500th collegiate victory at Penn State Behrend, guiding the Lions to a 76-60 victory over the Fredonia Blue Devils last night.
Niland is currently in his 26th season guiding the Lions. He has produced 25 consecutive winning seasons to rank 20th among NCAA Division III programs for winningest teams of the decade. The Lions also have earned an NCAA or ECAC postseason bid in 23 of the past 24 years. Niland is the all-time leader in men’s basketball coaching victories at Behrend.
Last season, Behrend won its sixth overall AMCC Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the eight time under Niland’s direction. The finished with a 23-5 overall record and 14-4 mark in the AMCC, while having three players earn All-Conference honors.
The Lions have advanced to the NCAA Tournament eight times and has made 13 appearances in the ECAC South Region Tournament, winning the title in 1998-99 and 2009-10.
Niland has been named the AMCC Coach of the Year seven times— a league and college record. His teams have won seven regular-season league titles and six conference tournament championships. In 2008-09, the men’s basketball team forged a record of 18-10 and earned its third ECAC Tournament bid. The previous year, Niland led the Behrend Lions to an impressive 24-5 record, as the team captured the regular-season AMCC championship and the conference tournament before eventually falling in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Rochester, New York. That squad’s defensive prowess was recognized for the second time in four seasons, as Behrend led Division III in scoring defense, limiting the opposition to a measly 54.6 points per game.
https://www.psblions.com/sports/mbkb/coaches/Dave_Niland_Head_Coach?view=bio
