READING, Pa. – The Albright men's basketball team used a 27-4 run in the second half of its MAC Commonwealth game against Hood to defeat the Blazers, 61-57, in a key early-season conference tilt. With the victory, the Lions moved to 4-0 in MAC Commonwealth play. Hood falls to 10-3 and 2-2 in conference play.

The Albright run came after it shot just 25 percent in the first half and trailed, 36-28, with 15:21 to play in the game. Three pointers by Omari Ringgold and Brandon Lindsay helped to pull the Lions to within 38-36, and four straight points from Fred Rowles gave Albright a 40-38 advantage.

The party was just starting. Albright hit a three pointer on each of its next five possessions. Lindsay hit two straight to make it 46-38. Ringgold added another one to make it 49-38. That capped a 16-0 run in less than five minutes of action. After a Hood basket, DeJuan Smith made a three before Lindsay capped the stretch with another. That shot gave the Lions a 55-40 lead with 5:55 left. After making just seven field goals in the first half, Albright made eight three pointers in the second half.

Lindsay had 19 points on five three pointers and four free throws.

Hood countered in the final minutes. The Blazers came back with a 17-4 run to cut the score to 59-57 Albright with 21 seconds left on a three pointer by Scott Bolen. Hood fouled Smith with 10 seconds to play, but he calmly sank both free throws to give Albright a two-possession lead that turned into a 61-57 victory.

Smith (13 points), Rowles (11) and Ringgold (10) all finished in double-digit scoring for the Lions.

Albright used a 10-0 run in the first half to turn an eight-point deficit into an 18-16 lead. Three pointers from Lindsay and Damon Stern started the stretch for Albright. Hood scored six of the final seven points of the first half to carry a 27-23 lead into the intermission.

The Lions will look to move to 5-0 in conference play on Saturday when they travel to Lebanon Valley at 1 p.m.