READING, Pa. – The Albright Lions men's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking 93-89 loss to Arcadia in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament semifinals on Wednesday night in the Bollman Center.
The Lions record now stands at 15-11 overall, while the Knights improve to 16-10 overall, and will host Lycoming on Saturday in the MAC Commonwealth Championship game.
Junior
Samuel Majekodunmi led the Lions with a game-high 33 points after going 10-of-21 from the field and 11-of-12 from the free throw line. Majekodunmi also added six assists, three rebounds, and two steals. Sophomore
Corey Simmons tallied 18 points off the bench behind going 9-of-13 from the field, and grabbed six rebounds. Junior
Sidney Brown posted 13 points, and senior
DeLascio Dancy compiled a line of 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
After Majekodunmi opened the game with a layup, the Knights quickly scored six-straight points to go up 6-2 at the 18:48-mark. Arcadia continued to stay hot to start from the field as they extended its lead out to 12-6 at the 15:42-mark of the first half. The Lions responded with a 9-2 run to go up 15-14 at the 11:37-mark of the first half before the Knights responded with a 9-2 run of their own out of a timeout to take a 23-17 lead. Following a three-pointer from sophomore
Mark Brinkley Jr. to make it a 23-20 game at the 9:14-mark, the Knights went on a 12-4 run to take their largest lead of the first half at 35-24. The Lions would get within seven points at 38-31 with 1:59 left in the first half, but would get no closer as the Knights carried a 44-33 lead into halftime.
Like the beginning of the first half, Majekodunmi opened the second half with a layup to cut the Knights lead down to nine at 44-35. Arcadia responded with a three-pointer to take their largest lead of the game at 47-35, and maintained a double-digit lead out to 50-39 at the 16:55-mark. However, back-to-back three-pointers from Dancy and Brown cut the deficit down to 50-45, forcing a Knights timeout. The Lions got within three points at 55-52 at the 13:10-mark following a layup from Simmons, but the Knights countered with an 8-2 run to take a 63-54 lead at the 10:05-mark of the second half. With the Knights up 68-59, Albright used an 8-2 run to draw within three points at 70-67 at the 5:55-mark of the second half. Arcadia extended its lead back out to 74-69 with 4:12 left in regulation before a three-pointer from Brown made it a 74-72 game at the 3:11-mark. Brown answered another Knights basket with a three-pointer to make it 76-75, and Majekodunmi gave the Lions their first lead of the second half at 77-76 with a pair of free throws. The Lions rallied twice from a pair of Arcadia baskets to tie the score at 81 with 48 seconds left in regulation. Albright had the last shot following a missed three-pointer from the Knights, but Majekodunmi's long three-point attempt just bounced off the top of the rim to force overtime.
Simmons opened the overtime period with a layup before the Knights tied it at 83 with a pair of free throws. Simmons struck again to put the Lions up 85-83 with 2:56 left in overtime, but the Knights responded with back-to-back baskets to go up 87-85. Dancy tied the game at 87 on a layup with 1:44 left in the overtime period, however, the Knights scored five-straight points to take the lead for good.
The Lions shot 43.8 percent (32-of-73) overall from the field, and 9-of-22 (40.9%) from beyond the arc. Albright went 16-of-21 (76.2%) from the free throw line, while getting 28 points from its bench. Meanwhile, the Knights shot 51.5 percent (34-of-66) from the field, and went 4-of-7 in overtime. Arcadia shot 11-of-24 (45.8%) from three-point range, and 14-of-19 (73.7%) from the free throw line. The Knights held a slight 41-40 rebounding advantage.
Reigning MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year, Da'Kquan Davis, registered a game-high 40 points for the Knights after going 15-of-34 from the field. Davis scored 24 of his points in the first half, and grabbed five rebounds along with four steals. Steve Pendleton tallied 32 points behind going 11-of-18 from the field, while tallying eight rebounds and four assists.
Albright will now await a potential ECAC Tournament Berth that will be announced on Monday, March 2nd.
