Reading, Pa (January 8, 2025) - Alvernia University (8-4, 0-1) fell to York College (8-4, 1-0) 80-58, in the MAC Commonwealth opener Wednesday night in men's basketball action on Alvernia's Jack McCloskey Court. 

The Golden Wolves held a 21-8 lead after the first eight minutes of the contest but the Spartans outscored the Golden Wolves 32-14 to end the half and took an eight point, 40-32 lead into the break. York then outscored Alvernia 40-26 in the second half en route to the victory. 

How it Happened

• The Golden Wolves jumped out to an early lead in the first three minutes and grabbed an 8-1 lead over the Spartans thanks to a Robert Cottrell and one, a Jakob Kelly three and an Elijah Hamilton jumper. 
• Alvernia continued to score the basketball and recorded a 13-7 scoring run that gave the Golden Wolves a 21-8 advantage. Hamilton tallied four during the stretch and Cottrell added three. 
• The Spartans responded with a 21-1 scoring run that swung the lead in their favor for the first time all game, a 29-22 advantage with six minutes to go in the half. 
• York then ended the first half on a 11-10 run and took an eight point, 40-32 lead into the halftime break. Alvernia's Hamilton led the way with five of the ten points during the run and Kelly and Cottrell added two apiece. 
• Two Cottrell driving layups to start the first half saw the Golden Wolves cut the deficit to five, 42-37 but the Spartans then ripped off a 14-9 scoring run that pushed the lead to double digits, 56-46 with under 13 minutes to go in the game. '
• Both teams went scoreless for the next three minutes until York knocked down a three ball and a driving layup to push the lead to 15, 61-46 with under ten to go. 
• York would then push the lead to 20 after a 13-8 scoring run over the next six minutes to make it 74-54 with three minutes remaining. Robert Mullan recorded four points for the Golden Wolves during the stretch. 
• The Spartans scored six of the final ten points of the game to secure the 80-58 victory over the Golden Wolves. 

Inside the Box Score

• Robert Cottrell led the way for the Golden Wolves with a team high 15 points. Cottrell went 5-6 from the floor, 4-4 from the charity stripe and tallied three rebounds, one assist and one steal. 
• Elijah Hamilton was the only other Golden Wolf in double figures and recorded 12 points, five rebounds and one block. 
• Jakob Kelly grabbed a team high six rebounds and added nine points. 
• The Spartans outrebounded the Golden Wolves 48-32 overall including 19-1 on the offensive glass. 

Up Next

• The Golden Wolves are back in action on Saturday when they travel across Reading to Albright to take on the rival Lions in a MAC Commonwealth doubleheader with the women. Alvernia Women's Basketball takes on Albright at 1:00 PM and the men are slated to start at 3:00 PM.