Grantham, Pa. (Jan. 11, 2023) - Alvernia University (12-3, 6-1) picked up its sixth straight MAC Commonwealth win on Wednesday night with a 66-55 win over Messiah University (8-7, 3-3) at Messiah's Hitchcock Arena in men's basketball action. 

With the win, Alvernia improved to 6-1 in MAC Commonwealth. As Alvernia approaches its final game of the first rotation of conference play on Saturday, the Golden Wolves have not dropped a conference contest since its MAC Commonwealth opener against Widener back on November 30th. The Pride and Stevenson University sit tied for second behind Alvernia at 4-2 in MAC Commonwealth play.

The Golden Wolves jumped out to a 4-0 lead on the Falcons with back-to-back early jumpers by Malik Green. The Falcons got within one on an early three, but were held to just those three points for six minutes while Alvernia extended its lead nine, 12-3. 

Alvernia's scoring then went cold as the Falcons worked their way back in and made it a two point, 16-14, at the midpoint of the half. Nigel Cooke and Mickeel Allen put down back-to-back layups to push Alvernia's lead back up to six, 18-12. Jalil Schenck then hit a three and Malik Slay converted a jumper to give Alvernia a double-digit lead, 23-12, with 6:43 to play in the first half. 

Alvernia continued to push the Falcons and a layup by Keba Mitchell gave Alvernia a 16 point lead, 30-14, with 4:13 to play in the half. The Falcons hit a three with 1:17 to go in the half to get within 12, but Green hit back-to-back free throws to close out the first half scoring as Alvernia took the 37-13 lead into the half.

Alvernia shot 42% from the field in the first half with three threes. The Golden Wolves were also 8-for-8 from the line in the opening 20 minutes.

The Golden Wolves and Falcons traded points to open the half, and the Falcons got within single digits on a Tyler Penley three with 12:51 to play. But, a series of four made free throws between Robert Mullan and Slay, pushed Alvernia's lead back to 13, 45-32, with 12 minutes to play.

Alvernia's lead stayed around the 13 point mark for the next two minutes until a Mitchell dunk and Jakob Kelly free throw gave Alvernia a 16 point advantage with seven minutes to play. The Falcons again got within single digits a minute later after back-to-back threes, but Alvernia regained its ground on two made free throws by Mullan and another dunk from Mitchell. 

The Golden Wolves pushed their lead to 16 once more on a Mullan layup and ensuing and-one free throw with four minutes to play, and coasted to the finish from there as Alvernia came away with the 66-55 win.

The Golden Wolves finished shooting 21-for-55 from the floor with four 3-pointers and 20 made free throws. 

Green led Alvernia shooting 4-for-8 from the field and 8-for-11 from the line for a team-high 17 points. Mullan finished with 14 points and was 7-for-8 from the line. Kelly finished with a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Golden Wolves are back in action on Saturday hosting Hood College. The game is the final game of the first rotation of MAC Commonwealth play.