Box Score
The Albright Lions suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday, coming up short in a 74-68 loss to the archrival Crusaders of Alvernia University. Up two at the half, Alvernia would build a 13-point lead that the Lions would not be able to overcome.
Dave Singleton led Albright with 16 points, once again coming up just shy of a triple double. He finished the game with two steals, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, making 8-of-11 free throws.
Pedro Perez finished with a double-double, scoring 10 to go with 12 rebounds.
Zach Benjamin and
Sam Marrella also had 10 points for the Lions.
Brian Parker and
Kahlil Bennett led the way for the Crusaders, combining for 35 points. Parker had a double-double, finished the game with 11 rebounds, and shot 5-of-8 from the line. Bennett scored a game-high 20 points, including three 3's, three rebounds, and a steal.
After trailing early, Albright took a 5-4 advantage on a Perez layup. The Lions would build a three-point lead, but shortly found themselves down 11-9. Junior guard
Reuel Moore ended a three-minute scoring drought for both teams with a three pointer, giving the Lions a 12-11 lead.
Following an Albright turnover, a
Terrence Bridgers layup and free throw, followed by a
Harrison Deyo dunk and a
Josh Vargas three gave Alvernia a lead it would not relinquish, going up 19-12. It looked like the Lions would only trail by two going into the second half before a
Chris Davis three-pointer put Alvernia up five as time expired.
Alvernia built on its advantage quickly in the second half, finding themselves up 13 with 11:32 left in the game. Albright fought to keep it close, trailing by only five after a three from freshman
Andre Marshall. This was as close as the Lions would get, as Alvernia would take a game-high 14-point lead with 3:05 left to play.
Albright had trouble connecting from three-point range, only netting three baskets out of 25 attempts from behind the arc. The Lions sank 15-of-23 from the line, good for 65.2%.
With the loss the Lions are now 5-1 on the season, and 1-1 in the Commonwealth Conference. Albright next plays Wednesday, December 5 at home in the Bollman Center against Widener. Game time is 8:00 p.m.
