Reading, Pa. (Feb. 3, 2024) - Alvernia University survived a triple-overtime thriller, 89-79, against York College in MAC Commonwealth men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon,
Alvernia led by six at the half, but the Spartans evened it up in the early minutes of the second half. The back and forth continued for much of the second half before York hit two free throws to first the first overtime.
Neither team could gain any ground in the first overtime and Alvernia survived only on made free throws in the second overtime. Alvernia held York to just three points in the third overtime while the Golden Wolves put up 13 to come away with the 89-79 win.
How it Happened
- The Spartans opened the scoring with a Kai Cipalla 3-pointer following a turnover on Alvernia's first possession. But, the Golden Wolves responded with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to take the early 10-3 lead. Nigel Cooke led Alvernia with six points during the run.
- Alvernia built its lead up to nine, 16-7, on a Robert Mullan 3-pointer with 12:59 to go in the opening half. York responded with a 9-3 run of its own over the next three minutes to get within one possession, 19-16, with 9:16 to play in the half.
- York stayed within two possessions for the remainder of the half. A late driving layup by Mullan with 12 seconds to play had Alvernia poised to take a seven point lead, 37-30, into the break. But, Alvernia was hit with a late foul call that sent the Spartans to the line with less than a second on the clock. York's Jayden Rowe made one of his two attempts to make it a 37-31 game going into the break.
- Alvernia shot 71% from 3-point range in the first half, going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. On the other side of the floor, Alvernia held the Spartants to 12% shooting from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes as York shot 2-for-11.
- The Spartans opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers to quickly even the game up at 37-37. York then took the lead, 39-37, with 17:15 to play. It took Alvernia four minutes to score in the second half, but a Kyle Gordon hook shot did the trick as Alvernia tied it at 39-39.
- Later in the half, Alvernia built its lead up to nine, 52-41, on a Gordon putback layup with 11:24 to play in regulation.
- York responded with a 3-pointer to get back within six and began chipping away from there. York tied the game at 57-57 with 5:25 to play in regulation.
- Alvernia retook the lead on a three point play by Robert Mullan, but could not gain much breathing room. York again tied it at 63-63 with 52 seconds to go in the second half.
- A Jakob Kelly layup gave Alvernia back the lead, 65-63, with 32 seconds to play. The Spartans had the last shot, but they did not need to take it as an Alvernia free throw sent the Spartans to the line with the chance to tie. Jayden Rowe converted both his attempts for the Spartans to send the game into its first overtime.
- Alvernia took a four point lead, 70-65, through the first four minutes of overtime as York failed to score. But, the Spartans hit a 3-pointer with under a minute to go to give them some life and converted a layup with one second to play in the overtime period to tie the game at 70-70 and send it to the second overtime.
- The Golden Wolves and Spatans traded free throws through the first 3:26 of the second overtime as York held a slight 74-73 advantage. Alvernia tied it at 74-74 on a Cooke free throw with 1:20 to play. York retook the lead, 76-74, on a Kai Cipalla layup, with 47 seconds to play. But, Alvernia was again sent to the free throw line and Cooke converted both to tie the game at 76-76. Neither team could score in the final second as the game headed to its third overtime.
- Alvernia showed fresh life despite not subbing since late in the second half. A 3-pointer by Mullan got things going for Alvernia and Alvernia made it a six point game, 82-76, off of three made free throws. The Spartans continued to send Alvernia to the line and the Golden Wolves made another four foul shots to take an 86-76 lead with 48 seconds to play.
- Alvernia and the Spartans traded layups and a free throw, but York did not threaten again as Alvernia came away with the 89-79 win.
Inside the Box Score
- Alvernia had three starters reach 20 or more points, and Cooke led the way with a career-high 29 points. Jakob Kelly had a 22 point, 12 rebound double-double, and Mullan also had 22 points with three steals.
- Cooke, Kelly, Mullan, and Gordan each played 51 or more minutes.
- Kai Cipalla led Yorkw ith 28 points.
Of Note
- Today marked Alvernia's first triple-overtime game since falling to Stevenson, 93-89, in triple overtime in December of 2021.
- With the win, Alvernia swept the season series with the Spartans and put an end to York's six-game win streak.
- Alvernia is now in third place in MAC Commonwealth standings with four games to go.
Up Next
- Alvernia heads to Eastern on Wednesday night. The Eagles defeated Alvernia at home 100-78 on January 17th. Eastern is coming off an 84-64 win over Stevenson earlier today.
- The Eagles are in fourth in MAC Commonwealth standings with a conference record of 6-4.
