Reading, Pa. (Nov. 8, 2023) - Alvernia University (1-0) outscored Juniata College (0-1) by 15 in the second half as the Golden Wolves pulled away for a 66-48 win over the Eagles in non-conference men's basketball action at Alvernia to open the 2023-24 season.

Alvernia trailed by as much as nine in the first half before closing the gap and taking a three point lead into the half. Alvernia then ran by the Eagles in the second half for the 66-48 win. The win marked the first for Head Coach Mike Miller Jr. at the helm after he took over for his father following his retirement over the summer.

The Eagles stole the opening possession from Alvernia and took it in for a quick 3-pointer. Alvernia responded with a Jakob Kelly jumper, but Juniata then held Alvernia without a field goal for the next four and a half minutes while it built an 11-4 lead of Alvernia.

The Golden Wolves continued to struggle to make a field goal, but a series of made free throws over the next minute brought it back to a one possession game, 11-8, with 13:05 to play in the first half.

Juniata shut the Alvernia offense down again over the next four minutes and built its lead to nine, 21-12, with 9:09 to play in the opening half. A 3-pointer by Nigel Cooke sparked life into Alvernia and a jumper by Malik Slay made it a four point game, 21-17, with 8:38 on the clock.

Cooke then brought Alvernia within one, 21-20, on a corner three. After a Juniata field goal, Alvernia tied it up at 22-22 on a pair of made free throws by Kyle Gordon.

A layup off the bench by Kegan Hertz for Alvernia tied the game up at 24-24 with 5:10 on the clock, and a pair of made free throws by Alex Cercado off a Gordon steal gave Alvernia the lead, 26-24, with 4:12 to play in the first. Juniata tied it up a minute later and then retook the lead, 28-26, with two minutes to play in the first. But, a Jacob Stoudt 3-pointer gave Alvernia the lead, 29-28, with 1:37 to play in the half. A pair of made free throws by Slay made it a 31-28 game going into the break.

The Eagles scored the opening points of the second half to get back within one, and tied it up at 33-33 with 15:14 to play in the game. But, a layup by Cooke with 14:48 to play in the half sparked a 16-3 run for Alvernia that saw its lead grow to 49-36 with just under 10 minutes to play. Jalil Schenck came in and scored six for Alvernia during the run, and Cooke added another three.

Juniata held Alvernia scoreless for the next two and a half minutes and closed the gap to nine, but back-to-back layups by Gordon and Cooke followed by a Scheck 3-pointer extended Alvernia's lead up to 16, 56-40, with 6:08 to play

After a scoreless two minutes on both sides, Gordon slammed down a dunk off a loose ball pass by Cooke to make it a 58-42 contest with four minutes to go. The Eagles did not threaten the rest of the way as Alvernia came out with a 66-48 win to open the season.

Cooke led the Golden Wolves with 17 points off of 5–for-8 shooting. He was also a perfect 4-for-4 from the line and finished with four rebounds and three assists. Gordon finished with a team-high eight rebounds and had five blocks on the night. Robert Mullan finished with 12 points and five rebounds, and Schenck finished with 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

Alvernia is back in action on Friday at Penn State Berks.