West Hartford, Conn. (Nov. 7, 2021) - #9 University of St. Joseph (2-0) took the lead after seven minutes of action and never looked back as the Blue Jays took a 76-55 win over Alvernia University (1-1) on Sunday afternoon in the championship game of USJ's Tip-Off Tournament in West Hartford, Connecticut. 

Alvernia scored the opening points of the game - a layup by Malik Green - and extended its lead to 4-0 off a layup by Mickeel Allen just 2:10 into the game.

USJ tied it up at 4-4 90 seconds later following a jumper and layup on back-to-back possessions. But, a 3-pointer by Jakob Kelly put Alvernia back in front, 7-4, four minutes into the action.

A layup by Keon Taylor kept Alvernia in front, 9-6, after 5:08 had ticked off the clock, but then USJ found its rhythm.

A jumper from Tyree Mitchell sparked a 13-0 run by USJ and put the Blue Jays within one, 9-8, on its next possession. USJ tied it up on a made free throw one minute later.

With 12:26 left in the first half, a layup by USJ's Lucius Brittain put USJ in front and the Blue Jays never gave it up from there.

USJ's 13-0 run lasted over five minutes as the Blue Jays built their lead up to ten, 19-9, with 9:36 left in the first half.

Alvernia's Kelly went on a solo 7-0 run to bring Alvernia back within three, 19-16, with 8:14 remaining in the first half.

Both teams would trade points over the next six minutes until converted free throws followed by a layup from Jalen Samuels gave USJ its largest lead of the half, 32-19, with under three minutes remaining in the half.

Both USJ and Alvernia struggled to score in the final three minutes of the first half, with a free throw by Green being the only point scored prior to halftime. USJ took a 32-20 lead into the half.

Green opened the second half scoring with a 3-pointer on Alvernia's first possession to bring the game back within single digits, 32-23.

Alvernia was unable to gain any ground, but USJ was also unable to pull away, as the USJ lead hovered around ten points for a majority of the second half.

It wasn't until there was just over seven minutes remaining in the game until USJ pulled away for the final time. A jumper by Ryan O'Neil with 7:10 on the clock put USJ back ahead by double-digits, 58-47. 

Alvernia would not get any closer as USJ twice built its lead up to as much as 19 points over the next five minutes.

Back-to-back layups from Taylor and Kelly brought Alvernia back within 15, 70-55, with 1:42 left to play. But, Alvernia would not score the rest of the way as USJ added six more points to its lead to take the 76-55 win over Alvernia.

Kelly led Alvernia with 19 points in 38 minutes of action. Green and Taylor also reached double-digits with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Green led Alvernia with eight boards. Taylor was also named to the All-Tournament Team for his performance over the weekend. 

Alvernia returns to action on Tuesday with its home-opener against Franklin and Marshall at 7:00 PM.