Reading, Pa. (Dec. 17, 2022) - After trailing at the half, Alvernia University (7-2, 3-1) outscored Albright College (5-5, 2-2) 46-36 in the second half as the Golden Wolves took a 79-70 win over the Lions on Saturday at Alvernia in MAC Commonwealth men's basketball action.

With the win, Alvernia picked up its third straight win and improved to 3-1 in MAC Commonwealth play. 

The Lions jumped out to a 9-0 run and forced Alvernia to burn an early timeout.The Golden Wolves came out of the timeout and Bobby Mullan put Alvernia on the board with a driving layup after about three minutes of action.

Following two made free throws by Malik Slay, Alvernia got within two, 9-7, on a 3-pointer by Nigel Cooke. But, the Lions then held Alvernia scoreless for the next two minutes and built their back up to seven, 14-7, on a Jordan Guerrero 3-pointer.

A jumper by Mullan and a 3-pointer off the bench by Jalil Schenck got Alvernia back within two again,14-12, with just under 13 minutes to play in the opening half.

It took Alvernia just over five minutes to tie the game up, with a free throw by Cooke evening the game up at 19-19. Cooke made his second free throw of the series to give Alvernia its first lead of the game, 20-19, with 7:29 to play in the half.

Albright and Alvernia traded the lead over the next five minutes, but a layup by Kyle Gordon gave Alvernia a four point lead, 31-27, with 2:36 to play in the half.

The Lions retook the lead, 32-31, with 1:51 to play on a 3-pointer by Jeremiah Stanton. Albright extended its lead to three points on a layup with just under a minute to play in the half. A layup by Gordon marked the final points of the half and made it a one point game, 34-33, in favor of the Lions going into the half.

Alvernia came out of the half firing, retaking the lead on a layup by Jakob Kelly off the steal of Mullan. Just under five minutes later, a jumper by Kelly gave Alvernia the seven point lead, 47-40. 

The back and forth of the first half then resumed in the second half, with Albright retaking the lead, 51-50, with 11:45 to play in the half following a 3-pointer and layup by Robert Mangum. After the Lions made it a three point game on a Guerrero layup, Alvernia evened it back up at 53-53 on a 3-pointer by Kelly off the feed of Schenck.

After trading the lead twice more, Alvernia retook it, 62-59, on a Cooke 3-pointer with 6:56 to play. Alvernia would not give up the lead again.

Alvernia pushed its lead to eight points, 67-59, following three made free throws and a layup by Keba Mitchell. 

Alvernia's defense held Albright to just two field goals the rest of the way as the Lions mainly relied on free throws to keep up with the Golden Wolves.

A layup by Kelly and four made free throws by Alvernia in the final minute allowed Alvernia to stay out of reach of the Lions as the Golden Wolves came away with the 79-70 win over the Lions.

With the win, Alvernia has won four straight against the Lions.

Cooke, Mullan, and Kelly all finished with 17 points for Alvernia. All of Kelly's points came in the second half. He also recorded ten boards for a double-double. Cooke and Mullan were both 4-for-9 from the floor and both finished with six rebounds and three assists. 

Alvernia plays its final game before the holiday break at 2:00 PM on Monday as the Golden Wolves host Marywood.