Box Score

A huge Alvernia first half carried the host Crusaders past the Albright College men's basketball team, 88-66 on Saturday.

Albright's Kyle Jordan had a big double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds. Fellow senior Pedro Perez added 12 points and nine boards.

Alvernia shot 50% from the floor and made 7-of-11 (63.6%) from behind the arc in a first half that saw the Lions shoot just 33.3% from the floor while missing half their free throw attempts.

Khalil Bennett and Chris Davis opened the game with three-pointers for the hosts, and Brian Parker pushed it to 10-0. Harrison Deyo stole a pass and missed a wide-open fast break dunk, but it still worked out for Alvernia as Bennett sank a three off the offensive rebound for a 13-0 start.

Albright went without a point for the opening five minutes until Sameen Swint hit an open three-pointer from the right side. Sam Marrella cut the deficit to 15-8 with a triple, but Bennett soon hit again from downtown for a 24-9 scoreline.

Josh Marquez stole a pass and fed Reuel Moore on the break, and Jordan later finished a nice pick-and-roll with Marrella.

The Crusaders kept coming however, with Bennett sinking an off-balance three-pointer despite being fouled. Alvernia led 39-17 after the four-point play, and 43-19 after Lamont Clark hit Davis with a nice bounce pass on the fast break.

After a string of fouls late in the half, Alvernia went into the locker room with a 55-24 lead.

Albright opened the second half on a 5-0 run after a Perez put-back, prompting a quick Alvernia timeout. Jordan finished off a nice cut through the lane, and Swint hit three free throws for a 10-0 Lion run that made it 55-34.

Bennett had 23 points in a first half in which he shot 6-of-7 from the floor, 4-for-5 from downtown and 7-for-7 from the free throw line. He finished with 27 to lead all scorers.

The Lions debuted their new all-black uniforms in front a large visiting student contingent. Alvernia was also well-represented in an enthusiastic crowd of 1722.

Albright falls to 2-4, 1-2 and will travel to Widener next Saturday. Defending Commonwealth Conference champion Alvernia is 5-2, 2-1.