Reading, Pa (January 17, 2024) -  Alvernia University (11-5, 3-2) fell to Eastern University (11-5, 3-2) by a score of 100-78, in a MAC Commonwealth men's basketball matchup Wednesday evening at Alvernia's Jack McCloskey Court. 

The Eagles led by seven at the half, 54-47 and outscored the Golden Wolves by 15 in the second half en route to a 22 point victory. 

Alvernia drops to 11-5 and 3-2 in the MAC Commonwealth with the loss and Eastern improves to 11-5 and also 3-2 in the conference with the win. 

How it Happened

• Eastern came out of the gates hot and got out to a 12-2 lead in the first three minutes of the half but the Golden Wolves came back and ripped off a 10-2 scoring run to cut the lead to two, 14-12 just under five minutes into the half. 
• The Golden Wolves and the Eagles traded buckets back and forth over the next three minutes with Eastern maintaining a two point, 22-20 lead. Alvernia's Kyle Gordon tallied five during the stretch and Alex Cercado recorded three. 
• Eastern then recorded 13 of the next 20 points to extend the Eagles lead to eight, 35-27 with seven minutes left in the half. 
• Alvernia responded with a 12-7 scoring run to cut the Eastern lead to three, 42-39 with four minutes to go in the half. Cercado recorded seven more, Gordon tallied three more points and Nigel Cooke added two. 
• Eastern then flipped the script and went on its own 12-7 run in the final minutes of the second half to make it a nine point, 54-45 game but Malik Slay recorded a layup at the buzzer to cut it to seven, 54-47 at the half. 
• The Eagles came out of the half and recorded 11 of the first 13 points of the half to push the lead to 65-49. 
• The Golden Wolves and the Eagles traded buckets back and forth over the next six minutes with the Eagles maintaining a double digit, 83-64 lead with ten minutes to go in the half. Cercado and Slay recorded four points each during the spell for Alvernia. 
• Alvenia fought back over the next five minutes to cut the lead to 13, 85-72 with just over five minutes to go. Kegan Hertz led the way for Alvernia with six points and Cooke added two more. 
• Eastern responded with a 15-6 run to close out the contest and secure the 100-78 victory over the Golden Wolves. 

Inside the Box Score

• Alex Cercado led the way for the Golden Wolves with a team high 18 points. Cercado went 6-11 from the field and 5-6 from the charity stripe. Cercado's 18 points ranks the second highest of his career. 
• Nigel Cooke and Kyle Gordon were the only other Golden Wolves in double figures with Cooke scoring 15 and Gordon had 12. Gordon also recorded a team high eight rebounds and two blocks. 

Of Note

• The loss is just the 13th loss all time against the Eagles with Alvernia holding a 35-13 overall record dating back to the 1981-82 season. 
• Eastern's 100 points is the first time since the 2021-22 season that the Golden Wolves have given up 100 points or more and is just the second time in ten years that Alvernia has given up 100 or more points. 

Up Next

• The Golden Wolves are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Stevenson to take on the Mustangs in a MAC Commonwealth matchup. The women will take on the Mustangs first at 1:00 PM and the men are slated to tip off at 3:00 PM.