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Reading, Pa. (Feb. 16, 2010) - After seeing more ties than it would care to on Tuesday night--14 to be exact--Alvernia University (15-9, 6-7) needs to hope for one more after its 111-110 double overtime loss to Albright College (19-4, 10-3) in Commonwealth Conference men's basketball action at the Bollman Center.

The Crusaders' only hope to make the postseason is a win Saturday in the regular-season finale against Lebanon Valley and somehow find a scenario with a favorable tie-breaker.  Most of those scenarios include at least two other teams in the tie at 7-7 in conference.

The pool of possibilities would have expanded had the Crusaders been able to make a few clutch shots at Albright on Tuesday.  For all the shots they made--62 total--it's the one's they missed they'll remember.

Alvernia head coach Mike Miller has consistently said all season that you have to make shots and Tuesday was no different.

Albright hit five straight in a 9-0 run that ended with a Derek Hall layup and put the Lions up 10, 79-69 with 5:07 left in regulation.  The capper came fittingly after Alvernia senior Nick Rivera (Reading, Pa./Holy Name) missed a reverse layup and Hall beat him down the floor for one of his own.

Eight days ago Miller inserted freshman sub EJ Logan (Frederick, Md./Frederick) in a similar spot and the 6-foot shooter nearly sparked a comeback against Messiah.  This time he had nearly the same effect.

Albright senior Adam Van Zelst fouled Stefan Thompson (Philadelphia, Pa./G.A.M.P.) on a 3-point attempt from the top of the arc and Thompson nailed all three free throws.  After an exchange of buckets, Logan came up with a steal and nailed a 3 right in front of the Alvernia bench.  Rivera and then sophomore Brian Nerney (Middletown, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) followed with back-to-back buckets and the Crusaders cut what had been a 10-point deficit down to two, 83-81 with 55 seconds on the clock.

Nerney fouled Jeff Sparrow, but he clanked the first free throw then complicated matters fouling Gillis on his way to the hole.  Gillis, who finished with a career high 27 hit the first, but missed the second after an Albright timeout and fouled Matt Ashcroft on the rebound.

Ashcroft, the second-best free throw shooter on the Lions' squad, hit 1-of-2, but Gillis missed a driving layup that would have tied the score, and fouled Andre Murphy on the rebound.  Murphy nailed both to put the Lions up four with under 20 seconds left, and for the second time it looked like the hosts would survive in regulation.

Alvernia went to Rivera in the post for a layup to cut the gap in half and the full court pressure forced Van Zelst into a turnover on the inbounds.  Alvernia junior Seth Cornell (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) took a look at a potential go-ahead 3, but with defenders crashing slipped the ball to Logan who knocked down the jumper just before the buzzer forcing the first overtime.

The re-energized Crusaders went right back to a pumped up Rivera in the post on each of the first two possessions and he converted twice around one Sparrow free throw for a three-point lead.  After a few empty possessions, Logan doubled the lead with his second 3 of the night, but Shaeffer answered it with a huge 3 from the right elbow, one of his six from beyond the arc on the night.

Rivera scored on a putback and Gillis scored on a jumper, both shots putting Alvernia up five, the second with 38 seconds left.

Shaeffer, who hit eight straight free throws in the first overtime, cut it to three with a pair at the 31-second mark.  Thompson was then fouled and was long on the first free throw and short on the second and the Lions had life in the final seconds.

Shaeffer was fouled by Gillis and hit two free throws with seven seconds left, then Gillis hit 1-of-2 with five seconds left.

The Lions inbounded to Hall who handed to Shaeffer and the 5-10 junior drew a foul on a 3-point attempt with a second left down two.  He nailed the first two without scraping the rim, his ninth and 10th straight in the game.  He scored 11 of Albright's 12 in the overtime, but an extra shot of adrenaline pushed his third free throw attempt to the back of the rim and the game went to a second overtime.

Logan opened the second overtime with a jumper, but Shaeffer answered it.  The Crusaders pushed the second overtime lead to six points, 106-100 following a Cornell layup, but as he did all night Shaeffer nailed a clutch 3 to cut the lead in half.

Cornell and Van Zelst traded buckets and Shaeffer hit a pair of free throws to pull the Lions within one, 108-107.  The game marked the first time in the series that both teams scored over 100 points, and it leveled both teams' records against one another at 9-9.

Alvernia turned the ball over on successive possessions, but Albright couldn't forge ahead.

The hosts finally did on a pair of Ashcroft free throws with 21 seconds left in the second overtime, taking a 109-108 lead.  The Lions finished the game 27-for-32 from the line--the Crusaders were 24-of-35.

Thompson drove through the Lions' defense on the ensuing possession and was fouled by Shaeffer on his way to the hole.  It was Shaeffer's fifth foul marking the end of his career night with 44 points.

This time Thompson redeemed himself hitting both free throws to put the Crusaders up 110-109 with five seconds left.

Once again the Lions inbounded to Hall, but this time Shaeffer wasn't an option.  Hall handed instead to Van Zelst who attacked the Crusaders' defense slicing to the right block.  He spun back and away from the pressure and lofted a shot over the outstretched arm of Rivera, the Lions' 63rd made shot of the night.

Alvernia was able to inbound to Cornell with four-tenths of a second left at mid-court and Cornell's prayer bounced off the front of the rim.

Alvernia put five players in double figures led by Gillis' 27.  Cornell played all 50 minutes and scored 24, Rivera finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and Logan scored 10 points in 14 minutes.  Albright also had five players in double figures led by Shaeffer's 44.  Andre Murphy scored 19, Van Zelst scored 13, Hall finished with 11, and Ashcroft added 10.

The Crusaders finish the regular season hosting Lebanon Valley for senior day on Saturday.

Albright 111, Alvernia 110 (2OT)