Box Score

Paced by Derek Hall's 17 points and 21 rebounds the Albright men's basketball team (10-5, 1-3 Commonwealth Conference) won a crucial league showdown against the visiting Blue Jays of Elizabethtown College (5-9,1-3), 68-55 on Saturday afternoon in the Bollman Center.

Hall's 21 rebounds were two shy of the single-game rebounding record set by Jeff Batturs against Delaware Valley College in 1986. The inside duo of Hall and Shane Irwin also combined to record seven blocks in the game.

After a close first half ended with Albright holding a three-point lead, the Lions came out firing to start the second period of play. Albright went on a 10-0 run to begin the final 20 minutes. In similar fashion to their 8-0 run to begin the game, Irwin converted a three-point play to end the streak and give Albright a 39-27 lead with 16:26 to go in the game.

The Lions pushed lead to 16 a minute and a half later after Irwin dialed one up from distance. Elizabethtown wouldn't go away however and continued to fight to stay in the game. Down 49-32, a 10-0 run by the Blue Jays cut the Albright lead to seven on a layup from Will Schlosser with 7:51 remaining.

Back-to-back buckets from Schlosser made it a six-point ballgame with 5:07 left. However, Albright pushed their lead back to double-digits as Dave Singleton converted two free throws with four minutes on the clock, and then canned a layup two minutes later to give the Lions a 62-51 advantage.

Sam Marrella's first points of the evening on a three-point shot off a pass from Singleton ended all doubt with 44 seconds left as Albright walked away with their first conference victory of the season.

In the first half, Kyle Jordan opened the scoring as he beat his defender on the baseline and finished for two. A few possessions later, Cornell Mickens hit a three on the fastbreak off a pass from Irwin, and Irwin cleaned up the glass for a bucket plus the foul to give Albright an 8-0 lead three minutes into the contest.

Elizabethtown responded with an 8-0 run of its own capped by a three pointer from Schlosser at the 15:01 mark. The Lions then embarked on a 12-0 run highlighted by a Hall tip-in with 12:43 remaining after defensive hustle from Irwin and Marrella resulted in an Albright steal.

The Lions extended their advantage to 20-8 after Marrella tossed a beautiful pass over the defense to Singleton for the lay-in with 11:47 left. Once again, the Blue Jays fought back led by long-distance sniping from Ben Cable. Elizabethtown cut the deficit to five at 24-19 on Cable's third three-point shot of the half with just over seven minutes to play. The score remained close for the remainder of the period, and the Lions took a 30-27 lead into the break.

Jordan tied a team-high with 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting and a 7-for-9 showing at the free throw line. Irwin mixed in 15 points with seven rebounds and four blocks. Singleton finished in double figures with 10 points and Mickens recorded a team-high four assists.

11 players on the Blue Jays were on the floor for at least 10 minutes. Elizabethtown was led by Schlosser's 15 points. Cable also finished in double figures with 12, and center Andrew Mantz finished the game with eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

The Lions will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to crosstown rival Alvernia University for an 8 p.m. tipoff.