READING, Pa. – The Albright Lions men's basketball team pulled out a dramatic 66-64 win over crosstown rival Alvernia on Thursday night in MAC Commonwealth play.
 
With the win, the Lions kept their MAC Commonwealth Tournament hopes alive as they improved to 7-16 overall and 6-9 in MAC Commonwealth play. The win moves the Lions into a tie with Alvernia for the final spot in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament as the Golden Wolves fall to 11-13 overall and 6-9 in MAC Commonwealth play. However, Albright needs an Alvernia loss to Lebanon Valley on Saturday to grab the final spot in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament.
 
Senior Jared Rappoport led all scorers on the floor with 20 points and completed a double-double with 11 rebounds. Rappoport also posted five blocks to move within five blocks of setting a new single-season record for blocks in a single-season. Sophomore Samuel Majekodunmi added 16 points and seven rebounds, while picking up a team-high six assists. Classmate Christian Lane posted 12 points behind going 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, and Sidney Brown tallied 11 points and five rebounds.
 
Alvernia tallied the first basket of the game, but it was the Lions that started strong as they took used an early 8-2 run to grab an 8-4 lead at the 15:54-mark of the first half. Alvernia fought back quickly to take an 11-10 lead before Lane and Brown hit back-to-back three-pointers to put the Lions back up 16-11 at the 13:01-mark. The Lions continued to shoot well from beyond the arc as they took a five-point lead at 24-19 off a three-pointer from junior DeLascio Dancy with 7:50 left in the first half. The teams would trade points for the remainder of the half before finding themselves tied at 34 after Lane tied the game on a three-pointer with 1:28 left.
 
The Lions again started the beginning of the half strong again as they used six unanswered points to take a 42-37 lead at the 15:04-mark of the second. Albright would then take its largest lead of the game at 48-41 following six-straight points from Rappoport at the 11:06-mark of the second half. The Golden Wolves battled back with a 9-2 run to tie the game at 50 with 7:50 left in the second half before stretching the run to 14-4, grabbing a 55-52 lead at the 6:24-mark. Lane buried a three-pointer to tie the game at 57 with 4:40 remaining in the second half before hitting an even bigger one just under a minute later to give Albright a 60-59 lead. Majekodunmi then gave the Lions the lead back at 63-61 following a Golden Wolves basket at the 2:12-mark. Alvernia used three free throws to go back up 64-63 at the 1:08-mark before Albright grabbed the lead again at 65-64 following a pair of Brown free throws with 40 seconds left. Alvernia missed a potential go-ahead jumper on its next possession, but was given second life following an Albright turnover. The Golden Wolves drew a foul to send Keon Taylor to the line for a 1-on-1, but Taylor missed the first free throw and Majekodunmi grabbed the rebound. Majekodunmi split a pair of free throws to put Albright up 66-64 with four seconds left, and the Lions held on from there as a last second desperation heave from Alvernia banked off the top of the glass.
 
Albright shot 40 percent (22-of-55) from the field and went 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from beyond the arc. The Lions went 13-of-18 (72.2%) from the free throw line and saw its starters score 59 of the teams 66 points. Meanwhile, the Golden Wolves went 38.7 percent (24-of-62) from the field overall and 33.13 percent (7-of-21) from three-point range. Alvernia went 9-of-15 (60%) from the free throw line and held a slight 39-37 rebounding advantage which led to 19 second chance points.
 
Malik Green led Alvernia with 18 points and added five rebounds, while Justin Thomas posted a double-double behind 17 points plus 10 rebounds. Taylor added 15 points, six rebounds, and a team-high five assists.
 
The Lions will return to action on Saturday, February 16^th as they will conclude the regular season by hosting Stevenson for senior day at 3 p.m.