Reading, Pa. (Feb. 22, 2023) - #1 Alvernia University (19-7) held off a late scare from #4 Eastern University (18-9) as the Golden Wolves defeated the Eagles 75-70 in the MAC Commonwealth Men's Basketball semifinal on Wednesday night at Alvernia. The win sends Alvernia to its first MAC Commonwealth Championship game since 2014-15.

Alvernia led by 16 with five minutes to go, but the Eagles threatened late as a 3-pointer from Sam Gallardo with 1:31 to play brought Eastern within one, 69-68. The Eagles then fouled Alvernia three times and the Golden Wolves went 6-for-6 from the line at crunch time to secure the 75-70 win.

The Golden Wolves will be making their fifth appearance in the finals since joining the MAC Commonwealth in 2009-10. The Golden Wolves will take on #2 Widener University. The Pride knocked off #3 Hood College 73-62 earlier tonight. 

A 3-pointer from the Eagles off the opening tip appeared to set the tone early, but Alvernia answered with back-to-back field goals from Jakob Kelly to give Alvernia the 4-3 lead after three minutes of action.

The Eagles retook the lead off a pair of made free throws, but Alvernia got it right back on a 3-pointer from Nigel Cooke and another jumper from Kelly to put Alvernia in front, 9-5, after five minutes of action.

After Eastern again got back within two, Alvernia pushed the pace with three quick layups from Kyle Gordon, Cooke, and Malik Green to give Alvernia the 15-9 advantage as the half approached the midpoint.

After two minutes of neither team scoring, a layup from Eastern's Zubair Lee brought the Eagles back within four, 15-11, with 8:52 to play. But, Cooke answered with another three to make it a seven point game on Alvernia's next possession.

Following a layup by the Eagles, a field goal from Kelly and a 3-pointer from Robert Mullan gave Alvernia its first double-digit lead of the night, 23-13, with 7:03 to play. Alvernia kept the momentum rolling as Keba Mitchell slammed down a dunk with 5:45 to play to keep it a ten point contest, 25-15. 

A jumper and pair of made free throws from Lee brought it back down to a two-possession game, 25-19, with 4:25 to play. But, putback layup from Kyle Gordon and pair of made free throws from Malik Slay pushed it back to a ten point game, 29-19, with 2:24 to play in the half.

The Lions scored four of the final five points of the half, but Alvernia led by seven, 30-23, going into the break.

Eastern opened the second half with a quick layup to bring the game within five, 30-25, but Mitchell went on a 6-0 run with two layups and a dunk on Alvernia's next three possessions to make it an 11 point game, 36-25, with 17:52 left to play.

Alvernia kept it rolling and a 3-pointer from Mullan along with a Gordon Dunk and a layup by Mullan pushed Alvernia's lead to 15, 44-29,  for the first time on the night with 15:28 to play.

An 11-4 run by the Eagles over the next 3:12 brought them back within single-digits, 48-40, with 12:07 to play. But, a pair of Malik Green free throws and a layup from Green got Alvernia back up by 12, 52-40, with 11:11 to play.

Alvernia held at least a 10 point lead for the next six minutes, and a layup from Kelly with 5:03 to play gave Alvernia its largest lead of the night, 66-50. 

But, the Eagles were not going down without a fight. A jumper from Draig Cooley with 4:47 to play sparked an 18-3 run for the Eagles that saw Alvernia's lead quickly fade to one, 69-68, with 1:31 one to go as Alvernia committed five turnovers in the three and a half minute span. 

The Eagles put on a full court press against the Golden Wolves, but instead of continuing to cause turnovers, Eastern instead fouled Cooke around midcourt. Cooke went to the line for a one-and-one and made both to put Alvernia back up by three, 71-68. But, Eastern went down the court two possessions later and brought the game right back within one on a slam dunk by Lee. 

The Eagles again fouled Alvernia, this time fouling Mullan on the inbounds. Mullan went to the line and converted both of his attempts to make it a three point game, 73-70, with 17 seconds to play.

The Eagles had two opportunities at a three on their next trip down the court, but were unable to convert. Cooke was able to come down with a defensive board and he was fouled with four seconds to play. He made both of his opportunities at the line to seal the 75-70 win for the Golden Wolves. 

Both Kelly and Mullan finished with 14 points for Alvernia. Kelly had four boards, five assists, and three blocks. Mullan had three rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Cooke finished with 13 points and six boards, and Mitchell finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Gordon led Alvernia's bench with 11 points and seven rebounds. He also added three blocks. 

Alvernia finished the night shooting 52% from the floor to Eastern's 36%. 

Alvernia has two days to prepare for Widener as the Golden Wolves will host the Pride for the MAC Commonwealth Championship on Saturday night. Tip-off is set for 7 PM at Jack McCloskey Court.