Grantham, Pa. (Dec. 14, 2019) - Justin Thomas posted a career-high 36 points and added 11 boards to lead Alvernia University (5-4, 1-2) to a 69-64 win over Messiah College (6-3, 1-2) on Saturday night in MAC Commonwealth men's basketball action at Messiah.

Thomas's 36 points is the most scored by a player since George Williams put up 36 against Arcadia University back in February of 2017. Thomas was 11 points shy of the school record of 47 points scored in a game, which was set by Mike DeCusatis back in 1975.

"Justin Thomas made a lot of big baskets," Head Coach Mike Miller said of the sophomore. "He had 36 points and 11 rebounds, so he just keeps getting better and better.''

The Falcons jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but Alvernia tied it up a 5-5 two possessions later following a 3-pointer and a layup from Thomas. The Golden Wolves then took the 6-5 lead on an and-one conversion following the layup from Thomas.

Messiah would tie it back up at 10-10 three minutes later on a layup from Matt Glogowski, but Alvernia would again retake the lead on another layup from Thomas. 

Alvernia would go up 14-10 on a big dunk from Darnell Ransom, but Messiah scored five straight to go up 15-14 with 11 minutes left in the first half.

Both teams would go scoreless for nearly four minutes, but Alvernia would break the scoring drought on a Thomas layup.  

The two teams traded the lead over the rest of the half, with Alvernia holding a 29-26 advantage going into the break.

The Falcons would retake the lead one final time with a layup from Nate Eberle with 14:53 remaining. 

Alvenia would take the lead on a 3-pointer from Thomas, and the Falcons tied it up on the next possession with a jumper from Will Young. 

Thomas drove in for a layup on Alvernia's next possession to put the Golden Wolves up 41-38. 

Alvernia led by as much as eight with 11 minutes left, but the Falcons stuck around and cut the lead down to as little as two points.

The Falcons would force Alvernia to make free throws at the end, which the Golden Wolves have struggled with early on this season. But, Alvernia converted seven attempts over the final 90 seconds to stay ahead of the Falcons.

Messiah missed a crucial 3-pointer with time running down to seal the 69-64 Alvernia win.

The win is Alvernia's first in conference play in 2019-20 following two early season losses to Widener and Lycoming.

Alvernia looks to keep the momentum going in Miami when they had to the HoopsMIA tournament this week. The Golden Wolves will take on Wesleyan on Tuesday night and Case Western Reserve on Wednesday.

"That's a big league win on the road, which we needed," added Miller. "In Miami we'll play two good teams, so we have to keep this momentum going. We are going to see a lot of different defenses and different styles of play, which is why play in this tournament."