OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The Albright men's basketball team got 18 points and nine rebounds from DeJuan Smith and 16 points from Omari Ringgold to defeat Stevenson, 64-58, in the team's MAC Commonwealth opener on Wednesday night.

The Lions carried a 32-23 lead into the intermission. They led by as many as 15 in the first half thanks to back-to-back three pointers by Smith and Ringgold to make it 30-15 with 3:54 to play in the half.

Albright extended its lead to a game-high 18 points thanks to an 8-0 run over a three-minute stretch in the second half. Calvert Gantz scored four of the points on the run, and Jayson Clark added two more on a fast-break layup. Two free throws from Smith capped the streak and made it 48-30 Albright with 12:37 left.

Stevenson cut the lead to five with 8:28 to play, but Ringgold hit a three pointer to cap a 7-0 run to make it 55-43 with 7:17 to play. Stevenson again fought back and cut its deficit to as few as two points in the final minute of play as it held Albright without a point for nearly four minutes.

With Albright holding the ball and a 60-58 lead, Fred Rowles hit a layup with 26 seconds left to push the lead back to two possessions. Clark got a steal on the next defensive possession, and that led to a Ringgold layup after an offensive rebound by Gantz on a missed free throw. That settled the score at 64-58.

Clark finished with nine points, five rebounds and three steals. Gantz had six points and eight rebounds while Rowles finished with eight points and seven boards.

Albright stays on the road in conference play at Arcadia on Saturday. Tip is set for 3 p.m.