Owings Mill, Md. (Feb. 28, 2015) - Senior guard Lamont Clark scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the second half as fourth-seeded Alvernia University (18-9) turned a double-digit halftime deficit around in a 58-51 win over #2 Stevenson University (18-9) Saturday afternoon in the Commonwealth Conference Men's Basketball Championship at Stevenson.
 
It's the third straight title for the Crusaders and the fourth in the last five years.
 
"This team refuses to lose," said Alvernia head coach Mike Miller.  "Again, we battle to the very end.  Obviously our defense down the stretch won the game."
 
Alvernia trailed by 17 points early in the second half of the 2014 final before coming all the way back to win on Chuck Cooper's last-second prayer, and found itself down 16 points at the break on Saturday.
 
Cooper, who totaled 65 points over the first two games of the tournament, was held without a point in the first half as was freshman Mike Miller, who averaged 14 a game coming in, and Alvernia was down 33-17.
 
"I told them at halftime just do what we do," said Miller.  "Just keep coming up with stops."
 
The Crusaders got stops in the second half holding the Mustangs to 6-for-25 shooting with eight turnovers, and Miller tweaked the offense slightly to use his scoring guards as screeners to open up senior center Harrison Deyo on the post as well as freshman reserve Alex Shippen on the perimeter.
 
"They continued to overplay Lite and Chuck," said Miller.  "But when we put Ship in that opened it up a little more."
 
Shippen played 22 minutes and finished with 12 points hitting 3-for-6 from the arc while the rest of the team—namely Cooper and Miller—went just 1-for-7 from long range.
 
Shippen's 3 with 4:19 to play gave the Crusaders their first lead of the game—a lead they held till the final horn.
 
Deyo was the third Crusader to reach double figures with 17 points—13 of which came in the second half.
 
Clark added eight rebounds to his game-high 22 points and was named Championship MVP.
 
"Obviously, he's the engine that makes us go," said Miller of his senior guard.  "He's the point guard that has to make all the decisions.  That's why we won."
 
The Crusaders will also make their third straight appearance in the NCAA Championships.  They will learn their opponent and location for the first round in a selection show set to air on NCAA.com on Monday at 12:30 p.m.
 
#4 Alvernia 58, #2 Stevenson 51