BOX SCORE Reading, Pa. (Feb. 20, 2013) –
Lamont Clark figured it was "heart." Head Coach
Mike Miller stands by, "defense, defense, defense."
Whatever it was, top-seeded Alvernia University (22-4) found it just in time for a 69-66 come-from-behind win over #4 Arcadia University (16-11) Wednesday evening in semifinal action of the Commonwealth Conference men's basketball championships at Jack McCloskey Court.
The Crusaders trailed 61-53 with 4:53 to play and rallied with 16 of the last 21 points to advance to the final on Saturday against #3 Lycoming, which defeated #2 Albright 80-78.
"I called a timeout when we were down because we were panicked," said Miller. "We took a bad shot and gave a bad foul and we were acting like it was over. I said there's still five minutes left. Just get back to executing a couple stops."
The Crusaders, who were in the midst of a 7-plus minute stretch without a field goal, got some stops and did some damage at the free throw line. Eleven straight points for the Crusaders came from the line. The last eight during an 8-2 run that cut the gap to two, 63-61 with 2:26 to play.
After a stop—a charge taken by junior center
Brian Parker (Chichester, Pa./Chichester)—the Crusaders went to the well for a play that ended with
Chris Davis (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) getting a wide-open layup to tie the game.
"I said to Chris yesterday, we haven't run this all year," said Miller of the game-tying play. "We even said at halftime, get ready, we're gonna need that thing. He was so all alone and almost missed the doggone thing."
Davis came off a screen at the top and with one misdirection had 15 feet of open space between him and the rim. The ball hit the glass and the front of the rim and fell through igniting the crowd of 1,000-plus.
Alvernia got another stop at the defensive end then went inside to Parker to surge ahead. Parker—who finished with a career-high 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting--had his first attempt blocked by Jose Figueroa, but Parker collected the rebound and laid it in on the opposite side to put the Crusaders in front.
Arcadia—which went without a field goal for the final 3:23—tied the game at 63-all with a pair of free throws from Travis Saltus, and the Crusaders worked the offensive glass for another putback, this one from
Lamont Clark (Parkesburg, Pa./Octorara) with 44 seconds to play.
Figueroa hit one of two free throws after his own offensive rebound, but now the Knights were forced to foul down one with the shot clock off. They chose
Kahlil Bennett (Old Bridge, N.J./Old Bridge) who had a rough night from the floor, but came up big hitting two free throws for a 3-point lead with 12 seconds to play.
Arcadia got a look at a game-tying 3 on its final possession, tipped the rebound out for another shot, but that was off line as well and the Crusaders celebrated their second trip to the Commonwealth Final in the last three seasons.
Arcadia knocked down shots in the first half building a 21-14 lead midway through before Alvernia put together a 7-0 spurt to forge the third tie of the game at 21-all. Arcadia answered with four straight before Alvernia closed the half with 11 of the last 13 for a 32-27 lead at the break.
Alvernia still enjoyed a 5-point lead with 14:55 to go before Arcadia scored nine straight and 21 of the next 29 for the 8-point lead with five to go.
Saltus led the way for the Knights with 20, and Rashon Brock scored 12 points off the bench.
Terrance Bridgers (Drexel Hill, Pa./Upper Darby) scored 13 points—nine from the free throw line—and Clark finished with 11.
Alvernia went 22-of-33 from the free throw line and 22-of-53 from the floor.
The winner of Saturday's final will receive the conference's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III championship, which begins next Saturday. The Division III final will be held in conjunction with the Division I Final Four in Atlanta the first weekend in April.
#1 Alvernia 69, #4 Arcadia 66
