READING, Pa. – Junior Evan Ward scored 16 points and collected 11 rebounds, but Chris Cook had 24 points and Hood used a big run midway through the second half to pull away from Albright and post a 71-59 Commonwealth Conference victory on Tuesday in the Bollman Center.

After Hood opened the second half on a 14-8 run to stretch a four-point halftime lead to 47-37 with 12:59 to play in the game, Albright responded with two free throws from Omari Ringgold and a basket by Ward to cut the lead to 47-41 with 11:21 to play.

Hood then ripped off a 15-6 run, which upped the lead to 62-47 with 6:53 left in the second half. Albright was never able to get the deficit under 10 points for the remainder of the contest.

Hood, which extended its winning streak to four straight, improved to 13-11 overall and 9-6 in the Commonwealth Conference. Albright dropped to 9-14 overall and 5-10 in conference play with the loss.

Ward was 6-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the line to lead the Lions. It marked his sixth double-double of the season.

Ringgold added 14 points, Jaylin Calloway had nine points and Vince Lombardi finished with seven points and four rebounds.

Cook was 5-of-8 from the three-point line to lead the Blazers with a game-high 24 points. Davon Hill added 17 points and Terell Buyck had 11 points off the bench.

Hood, which shot 50.0 percent from the floor in the second half, was 10-of-25 from the three-point line.

The first half was tightly contested as it featured five ties and seven lead changes and neither team held more than a five-point lead.

Albright used a free throw by Ward, a basket by Calloway and a layup by Thomas Vazzana to take a 23-18 lead with 5:05 remaining in the first half.

Cook answered with a three-pointer and Hood tied the score at 23-23 when Luke Casey scored inside with 4:25 left in the first period.

Ringgold and Reggie Daniels exchanged baskets and Lombardi gave Albright a 27-25 lead on a jumper with 2:34 to play.

Cook put Hood back in front with a three-pointer and then added two free throws to increase the lead to 30-27 with 1:26 left in the first.

Ward converted a layup with 43 seconds to play in the half to cut the lead to 30-29, but Cook drilled his fourth three-pointer of the half giving the Blazers a 33-29 lead at the break.

Two free throws and a basket by Ward, sandwiched around a jumper from Daniels, brought Albright to within 35-33 with 16:59 left in the game.

Cook and Hill then scored 11 of the Blazers next 12 points that increased the lead to 47-37 with 12:59 left in the game.

Then Hood used its game-breaking run to help seal the victory and record its third-straight win over Albright.

Albright will wrap up the 2014-15 season against Alvernia on Saturday (Feb. 21) at 4 p.m. in the Bollman Center.