Reading, Pa. (Nov. 9, 2021) - Playing in front of a home crowd for the first time since February 18, 2020, Alvernia Men's Basketball (2-1) put on a show as the Golden Wolves defeated Franklin and Marshall College (0-1) 77-58 on Tuesday night in non-conference men's basketball action at Alvernia.

Alvernia began to pull away midway through the first half and never let the Diplomats get closer than seven points in the second half as Alvernia came away with the 77-58 win in front of a whiteout crowd.

"It was very nice to play in front of a home crowd again," said Alvernia Head Coach Mike Miller. "I'm so happy with the student body...they were loud and our team appreciates that extra spark."

Franklin and Marshall came out and scored the opening points on two jumpers within the first minute for an early 4-0 lead, but Alvernia got on the board just under a minute later with two made free throws by Keon Taylor. A 3-pointer by Avery Walker 30 seconds later put Alvernia ahead, 5-4, for the first time.

Another set of made free throws by Alvernia's Malik Green extended Alvernia's lead to three, 7-4, but the Diplomats responded with a 3-pointer by Omar Nicholas to lock things back up at 7-7 with 16:34 left in the half.

Both teams traded points over the next two minutes, but a layup by Jakob Kelly with 14:39 left in the first half would turn out to be the shot that gave Alvernia its lead for good with the Golden Wolves going up 13-12.

The Golden Wolves went on a 14-2 run over the next five minutes that was capped off by a 3-pointer by Jacob Stoudt to extend Alvernia's lead to 13, 27-14, with just over nine minutes remaining in the first half.

The Diplomats got back into their rhythm, but Alvernia didn't let up, as both teams traded points the remainder of the half. A layup with 12 seconds left by F&M's Riiny Giir put the game back within single digits, 38-29, going into the second half.

F&M came out of the half and scored the opening points on a layup to get within seven points, 38-31, but Alvernia would not allow the Diplomats to get any closer the rest of the way.

A jumper by Kelly 20 seconds later but Alvernia back up by nine, and a layup off a steal by Malik Green extended Alvernia's lead back to double-digits, 42-31.

Two three-pointers by fifth year senior Rece Harman electrified Alvernia's offense and the crowd, and helped drive Alvernia to its largest lead of the night, 54-39, with 13 minutes left to play.

Two minutes later, Stoudt knocked down another jumper to put Alvernia up by 17 points with 11:38 left on the clock.

Alvernia's lead continued to grow, mainly off made free throws, over the next seven minutes, and a 3-pointer with 4:03 left to play by Kelly put Alvernia up by 22, 73-51.

After the Diplomats knocked down a three of their own on their next possession, Keon Taylor and Green came driving down the court. Taylor tossed up an alley oop and Green slammed down a dunk to bring Alvernia's crowd to its feet and keep Alvernia up by 20+, 75-54.

Alvernia's final points came off free throws by Green and Luke Edwards as Alvernia came away with the 77-58 win.

The Golden Wolves spread the ball around well, with four players reaching double digits in scoring. Taylor led Alvernia with 16 points and seven assists. Jakob Kelly finished with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Green and Mickeel Allen finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Stoudt came off the bench and scored 12 points for the Golden Wolves.

"It was a very well rounded performance," said Coach Miller. "We spread the ball around and we had guys like Jakob [Kelly] and Rece [Harman] coming off the bench and playing well."

The Golden Wolves have a quick turnaround and will head to former PAC rival Gwynedd Mercy on Thursday night with momentum on their side.

"We are excited [about how the season has started]," said Coach Miller. "We want to keep the momentum going into Thursday. That was a rivalry from my PAC days and they were picked to finish well in their league this year. It should be a good game."

The Griffins are off to a 2-0 start with a 98-79 win over Delaware Valley and a 71-62 win over Shenandoah. Tip-off against Gwynedd Mercy is slated for 6:00 PM on Thursday.