BOX SCORE

Aston, PA (Jan. 21, 2006) – Neumann College tallied eight of its 10 made free throws in the final 3:32 including two on its final possession to hold off Alvernia College, 69-67 Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania Athletic Conference men’s basketball action at Bruder Gymnasium.

            Alvernia overcame a 15-point deficit hitting six 3s in the final seven minutes of play including Zach Straining’s (Paxtang, PA/Central Dauphin East) second of the day that tied the score at 67-all with 22 seconds to play, but Neumann got a pair of free throws from Elisha Hannibal (Lansdowne, PA/Upper Darby) with 18 seconds left handing the Crusaders their first conference defeat of the season.

            Straining paced the Crusaders’ efforts with a game-high 19 points and Garrett Etzel (Shillington, PA/Governor Mifflin) and Chris Talley (Royersford, PA/Spring Ford) scored 13 apiece.  Neumann, which played just seven players, got 14 from Ronnie Fields (Lansdowne, PA/Penn Wood), 13 from James Swigget (Chester, PA/Chester), 12 from Andre Wright (Philadelphia, PA/Ben Franklin), and 10 from Ely Hitchens (Abington, PA/Abington).  Hannibal, who suffered through a 1-for-8 effort from the floor, put a positive cap on his day hitting the only two free throws he attempted to finish with five points.

            Alvernia took an early lead on a 3 from senior guard Lamar Brickus (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) and held the lead until the 13:26 mark when Fields nailed the first 3 of the day for the Knights giving Neumann a 9-8 lead.  Straining hit his first 3 of the day to regain the lead and following a Wright field goal that tied the score, Alvernia rattled off six straight to take a 17-11 lead with 10:28 left in the opening half.  Straining opened the mini streak with a bucket and assisted on the first of two Tyrone Bradley (Chester, PA/Chester) hoops.

            Hitchens stopped the run with a 3 as he, Swigget, and Fields accounted for three points each on a 13-3 run that put the hosts up four, 24-20 with 6:18 on the clock.  Alvernia managed just four points from Talley over the final nine minutes of the first half and Neumann built its lead to 11 points by the break, 35-24.  Hitchens had a string of seven straight points capped by a 3 that fueled the streak and Swigget finished it with 1:16 left in the half converting one of Hannibal’s five assists.

            Swigget opened the second half with back-to-back hoops to push the lead to 15 points and Hannibal’s 3 at 17:24 gave Neumann its largest lead of the day, a 16-point gap, 42-26.  Alvernia responded with back-to-back hoops from Straining and Jeff Amponsah (Far Rockaway, NY/Carson Long Military Institute), but couldn’t sustain momentum as Neumann maintained the 16-point lead with 11:24 to play.

            Talley and Bradley went back-to-back to cut the gap to 12, but Neumann was there to build it back to 15 following a bucket from Gregory Cunningham (Philadelphia, PA/Strawberry Mansion) with 7:03 left.  Etzel’s 3 on the ensuing Alvernia possession finally sparked a rally as the Crusaders nailed three straight 3s to close the gap to six, 59-53 with 3:56 to play.

            Hitchens started the Knights parade to the free throw line at 3:32, but only made 1-of-2.  Alvernia came up empty on two straight possessions, but Neumann cooperated with a missed free throw and the spread remained seven points under three minutes.

            Cunningham made good on a pair from the stripe pushing the lead to nine, but Etzel answered with a 3 to close the gap to six.  Neumann missed an attempt from the floor early in the shot clock but got the offensive board and Alvernia chose to foul down six with under two minutes to play.

            Swigget kept hope alive for Alvernia missing a free throw and Straining hit a pair of free throws to cut the gap to four at 1:26.  The Crusaders forced a turnover and Etzel connected again from beyond the arc to pull Alvernia to within one, 62-61 with 1:15 to go.

            The lead went back to three on a Fields bucket and back to five on two Cunningham free throws after an Alvernia turnover.  Brickus scored with 29 seconds to play and Cunningham and Brickus traded a free throw each with just a second gone off the clock leaving Alvernia down three.  The Crusaders got the ball back and Straining’s 3 six seconds later forced just the second tie of the day at 67-all. 

            Talley was whistled for a foul on the inbounds and Hannibal hit two free throws with 18 ticks left.  Alvernia worked the ball to Brickus in the final seconds, but he couldn’t connect on a 17-footer and time expired.

            Alvernia will continue the conference schedule on Monday at Arcadia as part of a women’s and men’s doubleheader.

Neumann 69, Alvernia 67