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The Albright College men's basketball team won six straight league contests to qualify for the Commonwealth Conference playoffs and now has a chance to go full circle, as the Lions travel to face Messiah in a semifinal- the last team (and only Commonwealth squad) to beat them over the second half of the season.

Playoff Picture

Albright finished in a three-way tie for third place with Lycoming and Alvernia, and 12 tie-breakers were used to eventually separate the three squads. Lycoming (8-6) earned the third seed and a trip to second-ranked Widener (9-5), while Albright edged out Alvernia for the fourth spot by a razor-thin margin of two points scored in head-to-head competition.

Playoff History

The Lions have won eight MAC/Commonwealth championships, while Messiah has won one since joining in 1984. Albright last won two years ago in 2009-10; Messiah's title came in 2005-06.

Head-to-Head

Albright is 37-21 all-time vs. the Falcons. However Messiah has won three straight vs. the Lions, beginning with a victory on the final day of the 2010-11 season to knock Albright out of playoff contention. Amazingly, the teams exchanged 63-62 home victories that year.

This season, Messiah escaped with a 60-57 home victory to give every fan in attendance free Chick-Fil-A sandwiches (the men's and women's teams needed to combine for 140 points for the promotion to go through, and they ended up scoring exactly 140). The Falcons then beat Albright 66-52 on January 28 in the Bollman Center, before the Red and White caught fire and won six straight down the stretch.

Senior Day Triumph

Albright got into the playoffs with an emphatic 87-68 home victory over Widener on Saturday. Senior Derek Hall scored his 1000th career point and finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Four other Lions were in double-figures: Kyle Jordan (18 points, nine rebounds, three blocks, three steals), Pedro Perez (6-of-9, 14 points), Dave Singleton (13 points, six assists) and Sam Marrella (4-of-6, 10 points).

Albright was absolutely outstanding for the first 10-plus minutes of the game, opening up a 27-6 lead on the second-place Pride. Singleton scored early on the fast break to make it 4-0, and then he and Marrella each hit Perez with similar cross-court passes as the Lions went ahead 19-6. Albright went on to hold a 26-6 advantage in fast break points for the game.

Hall and classmate Mark Christian were honored in their final home game at Albright.

Awards for Hall

For his efforts in two must-win games, Hall was named both the Commonwealth Conference and ECAC South Player of the Week. It was his second conference honor of the season and first ECAC award for a Lion in 2011-12.

Over two contests, Hall recorded his 12th and 13th double-doubles of the season while averaging 22.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and shooting 63.3% from the floor.

Albright College Lions (17-8, 8-6 Commonwealth)

Hall leads Albright from the post, averaging 16.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game while shooting 54% from the floor.

The Lions surround Hall with a deep, dynamic group of guards and swingmen. Point guards Dave Singleton (10.9 ppg, 53 assists, 39 steals) and Sam Marrella (73 assists, 35 steals) run the floor, while Kyle Jordan (9.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 35 blocks) and Cornell Mickens (7.9 ppg) provide athleticism out on the wings. Albright has ample outside shooting with Reuel Moore (team-high 23 three-pointers), Pedro Perez (6.8 ppg) and Tom Paul (48.6% from the floor).

Messiah College Falcons (18-6, 12-2 Commonwealth)

Sophomore David Fernandez is an all-around threat for the Falcons, leading the squad in scoring (15.5 ppg), assists (68), blocks (21), steals (29) and shooting percentage (56.4). Junior Derek Mosley (13.0 ppg) and sophomore Brad Bolen (10.5 ppg) are also in double-figures, while senior Jeremiah Runkle leads the squad in rebounding (8.4 rpg).

Déjà Vu

This is the second time this school year that an Albright team has advanced to a Commonwealth semifinal game, and both contests took place at Messiah. In November, the women's soccer squad lost to the eventual national champion Falcons, 3-0. The schools have been two of the most successful MAC institutions this year in terms of championships- Messiah has already won three MAC/Commonwealth titles (men's soccer, women's soccer, field hockey) while Albright has two (men's swimming, women's swimming).