Reading, Pa (February 13, 2024) - Alvernia University (15-9, 7-6) led by as much as 16 in the first half but a big second half from Hood College (18-5, 10-3) saw the Blazers take down the Golden Wolves 81-74, in a MAC Commonwealth men's basketball matchup Tuesday night at Alvernia's Jack McCloskey Court. 

Alvernia led by four at the half and as much as 11 in the second half but could not hold off the Blazers who scored 34 of the final 50 points of the game en route to an 81-74 victory. 

How it Happened

• A 3-pointer from Nigel Cooke marked the opening points of the contest and Alvernia led 8-2 through three and a half minutes of action following a layup from Malik Slay and a 3-pointer from Robert Mullan.
• The Blazers scored a quick seven straight to take a 9-8 lead after five minutes of action, but Alvernia retook the lead, 10-9, following a putback layup by Kegan Hertz on Alvernia's next possession. 
• The back-and-forth continued for the next six minutes and the Blazers led 21-20 with 8:48 to play following a 3-pointer from Hood's Kullen Robinson.
• Alvernia responded with a Cooke 3-pointer, which sparked a 19-2 run for the Golden Wolves that gave Alvernia the 39-23 lead with five minutes to play in the half. Alvernia went 5-for-7 from beyond the arc during the run and Jacob Stoudt led the way off the bench with eight points.
• The Blazers called a timeout to regroup and closed the half on a 15-3 run of their own to cut Alvernia's lead down to four, 42-38, going into the half.
• Alvernia made 10 3-pointers during the first half, but shot just 43% overall in the opening 20 minutes.
• The Blazers came out of the break and knocked down a three ball to cut the Alvernia lead to one, 42-41. 
• The Golden Wolves responded with a Mullan three ball that started a 13-3 run for the Golden Wolves to push the lead back to double figures, 55-44 with 15 to play. Cooke knocked down a three pointer and added a layup during the stretch, Slay hit a three and Kyle Gordon hammered home a putback dunk off a missed layup. 
• Hood bounced back with a scoring run of its own, ripping off a 15-5 run over the next five minutes to pull within one, 60-59 with just under ten to play in the second half. 
• A Slay layup and a Mullan floater pushed the Golden Wolves lead to three, 64-61 but the Blazers knocked down four from the charity stripe and a three ball from Justin Gielen saw Hood take its first lead since the 8:45 mark in the first half. The Blazers now led 68-66 with under seven to go. 
• Hood rode its momentum in the next two minutes and recorded six of the next eight points to extend the lead to six, 74-68 with 3:21 to go. 
• Mullan and Jalil Schenck both fired in threes from downtown to bring the Golden Wolves within two, 76-74 with a minute and change left. 
• The Blazers came down the floor and tallied a layup to make it 78-74. Following a missed three by Alvernia, the Golden Wolves fouled the Blazers and sent Garrison Linton to the line where he knocked one of two down to make it 79-74. 
• The Blazers knocked two more free throws down following a missed three from the Golden Wolves to secure the 81-74 comeback victory. 

Inside the Box Score

• Nigel Cooke and Robert Mullan led the way for Alvernia with 17 points apiece and they both knocked down five three pointers. Cooke added six boards and four assists in a game high 38 minutes played and did not commit a turnover. 
• Malik Slay followed with 14 points and also added six rebounds and three assists. 
• Jacob Stoudt rounded out the double digit scorers for Alvernia with ten off the bench including two three balls and added a steal. 
• Alvernia led by as much as 16 in the first half and held the lead for just over 29 total minutes. 
• Hood's bench outscored Alvernia's 40-17 and the Blazers shot just under 47 percent from the floor. 

Of Note 

• Hood improves to 18-5 and 10-3 in the MAC Commonwealth with the victory and the Golden Wolves fall to 15-9 and 7-6 in the Commonwealth. 
• Hood also improves to 12-10 all-time against Alvernia. 
• The Golden Wolves can clinch a spot in the MAC Commonwealth playoffs with a victory over Stevenson on Saturday or a York loss. 

Up Next 

• The Golden Wolves are back in action on Saturday when they host Stevenson for a double header at home with the women. The women are set to tip off at 1:00 PM and the men at 3:00 PM. 
• Both the men's and women's teams will recognize their respective senior classes prior to their games and the Spirit team will recognize their seniors at halftime of the women's game.