La Plume, Pa. (Dec. 30, 2025) - Alvernia University (6-4) closed out 2025 and its non-conference schedule with an 85-70 win over Keystone College (2-11) on Wednesday night in non-conference men's basketball action at Keystone.

Keystone took a quick 6-0 lead off the tip, but Alvernia evened the game up and used a strong close to the first half powered by the hot-hand of Robert Cottrell to take a 39-31 lead into the break. Keystone threatened in the early minutes of the second half, but Alvernia pulled away and held at least a ten point lead throughout the final nine minutes of the game.

Cottrell led Alvernia with a 25 point performance. Alvernia also had double-digit performances from Janye Stanley with 21, Rasheem Dearry with 15, and Elijah Hamilton with 14. 

How it Happened

• The Giants took an early 6-0 lead through the first three minutes of action, but Alvernia got on the board with an Elijah Hamilton layup and the Golden Wolves tied it up at 6-6 on a Kareem Diaz layup four minutes into the game.
• The Giants pushed their lead back up to five, 17-12, with 11:09 to play in the opening half, but the Golden Wolves quickly closed the gap again and took an 18-16 lead on Rasheem Dearry layup as the half passed its midpoint. 
• After a scoreless stretch by both sides for two minutes, Alvernia held a 20-19 lead on a Robert Cottrell layup and took a 23-19 on a Cottrell 3-pointer with 6:42 to play. Cottrell stayed hot with another 3-pointer followed by a layup to give Alvernia a 28-22 lead with five minutes to play in the half.
• The Golden Wolves and Giants exchanged points the rest of the half and a Cottrell free throw gave Alvernia the 39-31 lead going into the break. Cottrell led Alvernia with 16 points in the first half, 15 of which came in the final ten minutes of the half.
• A 3-pointer from Cottrell opened the second half scoring for the Golden Wolves, and a pair of made free throws by Janye Stanley gave Alvernia the 44-33 lead two minutes into the second half. 
• After Alvernia pushed its lead up to 15, 48-33, the Giants went on a quick 12-1 run over the next three minutes to close within four, 49-45, with 13:26 to play.
• A Stanley 3-pointer got Alvernia back on track, and Dearry followed with one of his own to push Alvernia's lead back up to eight, 55-47, with 12:17 to play. The Golden Wolves then retook a double-digit lead on a Dearry layup as the game moved into its final ten minutes. 
• The Golden Wolves kept rolling and Cottrell's fourth 3-pointer of the evening gave Alvernia the 68-51 lead with seven minutes to play. Alvernia did not allow the Giants to get within ten the rest of the way. The Golden Wolves shot 5-for-9 the rest of the way, and went 7-for-9 from the free throw line to keep the Giants from threatening as Alvernia secured the 85-70 win.

Inside the Box Score

• Robert Cottrell finished with 25 points - going 8-for-15 and 4-for-6 from 3-point range - to lead all scorers. He reached double-digit scoring in every non-conference game he appeared in for the Golden Wolves. Cottrell also had a team-high seven assists and grabbed seven boards.
• Janye Stanley went 8-for-18 with 21 points. He also finished with five rebounds.
• Rasheem Dearry finished with 15 points, and Elijah Hamilton recorded his second double-double of the season with a 14 point, 13 rebound performance.

Up Next

• Alvernia heads into conference play on Wednesday, January 7 hosting Widener at 7:00 PM. The Golden Wolves finished non-conference play with a 6-4 record. Widener is currently 2-6 in non-conference play, but has three contests left before facing Alvernia.