Jersey City, NJ (March 8, 2025) - Alvernia University (16-12) fell to New Jersey City University (14-12), 67-57, on Saturday night in the ECAC Men's Basketball quarterfinal, hosted by New Jersey City.

The Golden Wolves trailed by NJCU by just eight points at the half, 35-27. But, NJCU had an explosive start to the second half to pull away and secure the win.

How it Happened

• The Gothic Knights got on the board first, but Alvernia evened the game at 2-2 on a Kareem Diaz layup off of his own steal for its first points of the game. But, the Knights pulled away early and took a 10-4 lead through the first three minutes.
• A 10-5 run for the Golden Wolves over the next four minutes brought Alvernia back within a point, 15-14, with 12:19 to play. Robert Cottrell led the run for Alvernia, posting six of Alvernia's ten points.
• The Golden Wolves hung with the Gothic Knights for the rest of the first half, but Alvernia was not able to catch or tie NJCU. A 3-pointer from Cottrell with 2:48 to play brought Alvernia within three, 30-27, but NJCU closed out the half outsourcing Alvernia 5-0 to take a 35-27 lead into the half.
• NJCU came out of the break firing, and used an 18-6 run in the first six and a half minutes to pull away from Alvernia as the Gothic Knights took a 53-33 lead with 13:19 to play.
• The Golden Wolves would not be able to overcome NJCU's push to open the second half, never getting back within single digits.
• Alvernia got within 13, 63-50, on a Kareem Diaz 3-pointer and layup from Elijah Hamilton with five minutes to go.
• Alvernia then made it an 11 point game, 63-52, on a Cottrell layup with 3:40 to play. But, NJCU built it back up to 15, 67-52, on back-to-back field goals with two minutes to play.
• The Golden Wolves got within ten, 67-57, on a Saleem Hudson 3-pointer with 44 seconds to play. But, it was too little too late as NJCU came away with the 67-57 after neither team scored again.

Inside the Box Score

• Elijah Hamilton led Alvernia with 18 points off of 6-for-10 shooting. He also had seven rebounds.
• Robert Cottrell with 15 points and five rebounds, and Kareem Diaz finished with 13 points and six rebounds. Derrick Golden finished with a team-high nine rebounds.

Today's loss marked the end of Alvernia's 2024-25 season. The Golden Wolves finished the year with a 16-12 overall record.