READING, Pa. – Freshman
DeJuan Smith tied his career high with 20 points, but Alvernia overcame a nine-point second-half deficit on its way to a 65-57 Commonwealth Conference victory over visiting Albright on Wednesday on Jack McCloskey Court.
A three-pointer from Charles Cooper gave Alvernia a 41-39 lead with 16:12 to play in the second half before Albright rallied with a 13-2 run.
Omari Ringgold tied the game with a jumper and then Smith hit back-to-back three-pointers, sandwiched around a basket by Lamont Clark, that gave the Lions a 47-43 lead with 13:21 to play.
A basket by Ringgold and another three-pointer from Smith gave Albright its largest lead of the game at 52-43 with 11:45 remaining in the second half.
Alvernia responded with a 12-2 run, sparked by eight points from Harrison Deyo, to regain the lead at 55-54 with 4:09 to play.
Evan Ward put Albright back in front at 56-55 on a jumper with 2:55 remaining in the second half, but Alvernia took the lead for good on a three-point play by Clark with 2:33 left in the game.
Clark scored eight points in the final 2:33 of the game as Alvernia closed out the game on a 10-1 run.
Alvernia, which improved to 10-6 overall and 5-3 in the Commonwealth Conference, was led by Deyo who scored 20 points.
The Crusaders placed four players in double figures as Mike Miller (15), Clark (14) and Cooper (12) joined Deyo.
Smith finished the game 8-of-16 from the floor, including 4-of-4 from the three-point line for Albright, in tying his career high of 20 points he scored previously against Lebanon Valley.
Ringgold added 13 points for Albright, while Ward finished with nine points.
Albright, which lost for the fifth straight time, dropped to 6-10 overall and 2-6 in conference play.
Albright shot 51.7 percent from the floor in the first half and took a 34-33 lead into the intermission, but the Lions were limited to 33.3 percent shooting in the second half.
The Lions will return to action on Jan. 28 when they host Widener in a Commonwealth Conference game in the Bollman Center at 8 p.m.
