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READING, Pa. - In the hunt for their first conference tournament championship since 2005 the #2 Lions (20-5) will travel to Williamsport to face #1 Lycoming College (21-5) in the championship game of the 2010 Commonwealth Conference tournament tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m.

The winner of tomorrow's contest will have their ticket punched to the 2010 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball tournament which is scheduled to begin Friday, March 5th. Albright coming off a 73-67 win over #3 Messiah College will have to be at their best to take down the Warriors. Lycoming earned their place in the championship game by defeating #4 Elizabethtown College 90-81. 

The 2009-10 edition of the Albright Lions have been led by the hot shooting duo of Zac Shaeffer and Matt Ashcroft. Between the two, Ashcroft and Shaeffer have been named the Commonwealth Conference Player of the Week a total of five times respectively, with Shaeffer also earning ECAC South Region Player of the Week and D3Hoops.com Team of the Week honors as well. 

Combined the two are averaging 32.8 points per game this season, and rank first and ninth in the Commonwealth Conference in scoring. They are also the conference's top-2 three-point shooters, with Shaeffer's 67 and Ashcroft's 64. 

Senior Adam Van Zelst has been the quarterback of the Lions offense which ranks second in the conference in scoring. His ability to find the open player has made him one of the most dangerous guards in the league. 

Derek Hall and Justin Plummer have stepped up as the Lions big-men this year and have dominated the rebounding and blocks categories. 

Albright will also look to the tandem of Andre Murphy, Jeff Sparrow, Shane Irwin, and Kenneth Sullivan who have each added some tremendous depth to the Lions roster. Off the bench these four players have continued the trend of aggressive Albright basketball, which on Wednesday recorded it's fifth 20 win season in program history. Sparrow and Murphy have played a major part in leading this team, while Sullivan's and Irwin's size and strengthe make them two of the most physical players the red and white have to offer. 

The last time Albright faced Lycoming College it was a back-and-forth battle until the end, with the Lions pulling out a 84-80 win on January 30th. In their first meeting, Lycoming handed Albright their first conference loss of the season in Reading. Since their last meeting Albright has gone 3-3 against their remaining six conference opponents.

On the road, Albright has had quite the year, dropping just two of their 13 games away from Reading. The Lions currently carry an 11-2 road record going into Williamsport this Saturday. Handing the Lions their only non-conference road loss of the year were the 2009 national runner-ups Richard Stockton College back on December 11th. Elizabethtown College was responsible for Albright's lone conference road loss on February 6th.

Less than two weeks ago, Albright played in one of the greatest games ever witnessed on their home court. In double-overtime, the host Lions defeated cross-town rival and conference newcomer Alvernia University by the final score of 111-110. The game which lasted nearly 2 1/2 hours offered everything a true fan Division III basketball could ever want. That contest marked the first time ever that either team recorded 100 or more points against the other, and actually evened the series record at 9-9. Shaeffer was sensational in that contest scoring a career-best 44 points, which was just 10-points shy of tying the all-time single game scoring record set by John Scholl '69.

To date Albright ranks as one of the top defensive teams in the Commonwealth Conference, holding their opponents to just 33.1% shooting from behind the arc (1st), 41.7% shooting from the field (2nd), and 67.6 points per game (2nd). The Lions also lead the Commonwealth in defensive rebounds averaging just over 27.84 D-boards per game, and are tied for first with Elizabethtown in blocks with 93 (87th in DIII). Their assists-turnover ratio has been one of the best all season long and is currently ranked 51st in Division III with a 1.10 (15.4 apg/14.0 topg).