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READING, Pa. – The Albright men's basketball team hosts Lebanon Valley for the 2018 MAC Commonwealth Men's Basketball Championship at Bollman Center on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Albright (20-5) and Lebanon Valley (17-9) split their regular-season series. The Dutchmen won the first meeting in Reading on Jan. 6 by a score of 78-70. That victory for Lebanon Valley snapped an eight-game Albright winning streak while handing the Lions just their second loss of the season. Sam Light (30 points, 10 rebounds) and Andy Orr (22 points, 13 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles for the Dutchmen in the victory.
Brandon Lindsay led the Lions' offensive charge with 16 points.
Fred Rowles had 15 points, and
DeJuan Smith scored 13.
The Lions responded on Feb. 3 with a road win of their own in Annville by a score of 86-76. Lindsay scored 27 points while going 6-for-7 from three-point range in the win. Smith recorded a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Anderson led Lebanon Valley with 20 points while Orr had another double-double. He finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lions defeated No. 5 Arcadia in the semifinal round on Wednesday, 58-45. Albright held Arcadia to just 17.9 percent shooting in the first half and 30.4 percent for the game as the Lions were never really threatened in the contest. Rowles led the charge with 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
Lebanon Valley defeated No. 3 Lycoming on Wednesday by a score of 76-75 in overtime to advance. Ricky Bugg scored a team-high 23 points, and Light added 17 points. Orr scored seven points while pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds.
Albright is seeking its 11th conference title in men's basketball. The Lions have claimed two conference titles since the MAC split into two separate leagues in 2000, with their last title coming in 2010. Lebanon Valley is looking to capture its ninth conference title, and its first since 1995. The Lions defeated the Dutchmen, 81-68, in their only meeting in a conference final in 2005.
Both teams enter the game ranked within the Middle Atlantic Region. Albright is ranked third, and Lebanon Valley comes in eighth.
