Reading, Pa. (Dec. 19, 2022) - Leading by just five at the half, Alvernia University (8-2) outscored Marywood University (5-6) by 23 points in the second half as the Golden Wolves downed the Pacers 96-68 on Monday afternoon in non-conference men's basketball action at Alvernia. 

Alvernia trailed the Pacers through the first ten minutes of the opening half. The two teams then traded the lead through the final minutes of the first half, with Alvernia holding the 42-37 lead into the second frame. Marywood evened things up at 43-43 with 16 minutes to play before Alvernia went on an 18-4 run to pull away from the Pacers.

Alvernia opened the scoring with a putback layup by Jakob Kelly just under a minute into action, but Marywood led 11-7 at the 13:42 mark following a 3-pointer by Brandon Reed. Alvernia evened it up at 11-11 following two made free throws by Kelly and a layup by Kyle Gordon.

The game was tied twice more in the next three minutes until a layup by Mickeel Allen gave Alvernia a 17-15 advantage with 9:29 to play in the half.

Six minutes later, Alvernia built its lead up to nine, 33-24, on a fastbreak layup by Jaill Schenck with 3:12 to play in the half. The Golden Wolves nearly took an eight point lead into the half after a layup by Kelly off a Malik Green steal, but the Pacers hit a three as the final seconds ticked away to make it a 42-37 game going into the break.

The Pacers took advantage of a slow start to the second half by Alvernia and tied the game up at 43-43 with 16:04 to play.

A putback layup by Keba Mitchell sparked Alvernia back to life and marked the start of an 18-4 run by the Golden Wolves. The run included seven points and a block by Nigel Cooke and a 3-pointer by Schenck to make it a 61-47 game midway through the second half.

Just under four minutes later, two layups by Schenck and a 3-pointer from Malik Slay gave Alvernia its largest lead thus far, 77-53, with 6:17 to play.

Alvernia did not allow the Pacers to get within 20 the rest of the way. The final points for the Golden Wolves came off the bench as Drew Miller hit a layup, Billy Fisher knocked down a corner three, and Taralle Hayden converted a layup to give Alvernia the 96-68 win.

Kelly led Alvernia with a 20 point, 13 rebound double-double. Cooke led Alvernia with 22 points and three steals. Green finished with ten points and a game-high five assists.

Alvernia out-rebounded the Pacers 53-31. The Golden Wolves finished with 21 offensive boards to Marywood's six.

Alvernia will take its four game winning streak into a ten day holiday break. The Golden Wolves will return to action on Thursday,