Alvernia men's basketball defeats Albright behind big second half
Feb. 4—Alvernia completed the regular season sweep of Albright on Saturday.
The Golden Wolves relied on a late-game surge to earn a 92-78 win over the Lions in a MAC Commonwealth men's basketball game at Bollman Center.
"It's a huge win," Alvernia junior Robert Mullan said. "It sets the tone for the rest of the season."
Mullan led the Golden Wolves with 23 points in the second half, helping Alvernia outscore Albright 59-50 over the final 20 minutes. Mullan and teammate Malik Green each finished with 25 points to lead all scorers.
"I was just waiting for them to go under the screen to take my shot," Mullan said. "(I was) just taking what the defense was giving me."
Alvernia (9-3, 15-6) went on a decisive 16-5 run late in the second half to take control. With the win, the Golden Wolves remain in first place in the MAC Commonwealth with three regular season games remaining.
"You want to get home court, it's really big," Alvernia coach Mike Miller said. "We got to win to stay in first place, that's why it was a big win."
The first half was largely even as the two teams traded the lead five different times. Alvernia finished the half on a 13-7 run to lead 33-28 at the half.
Albright (4-8, 7-13) started the second half with a 15-7 run to take a 43-40 lead. Eric Chamberlain scored 14 points for the Lions in the second half and led the team with 23.
The game remained close until Alvernia responded with its big run to seal it. The Golden Wolves shot 54.5% from the floor and 45.% from beyond the arc in the second half.
"In the first half, we weren't swinging the ball as much," Mullan said. "Once we started sharing the ball a little more it made it a lot easier to get easy buckets."
The Golden Wolves hold a one-game lead over Widener in the MAC Commonwealth standings.
"I'm liking the way we play," Miller said. "I think we can only get better."
