READING, Pa. – The Albright Lions men's basketball team never trailed in a dominant 106-86 victory over Centenary in the first round of the 2020 ECAC Division III Men's Basketball Tournament at the Bollman Center on Wednesday night.
 
With the win, the Lions improve to 16-11 overall and will advance to the quarterfinals of the ECAC Tournament. Meanwhile, the Cyclones of the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) will conclude their season at 18-10 overall.
 
Junior Samuel Majekodunmi led six Lions in double-figures for scoring with a team-high 20 points. Majekodunmi scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half, while tallying a line of two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Classmate Sidney Brown followed with 17 points behind hitting five three-pointers. Brown scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half, and also tallied a line of two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Sophomore Corey Simmons registered his seventh double-digit scoring output in nine games with 12 points off the bench behind going 4-of-7 from the field, and hauled down eight rebounds. Classmate Mark Brinkley Jr. added a season-high 11 points off the bench, while grabbing three steals.
 
First-year Jordan Guerrero started things off with a dunk in the opening minute for the Lions off a steal before Brown hit a jumper to make it a 4-0 Albright lead at the 18:26-mark of the first half. Following back-to-back Cyclone layups, the Lions reeled off seven-straight points to go up 11-4 at the 15:43-mark. The Lions continued to pull away early from Centenary as they extended the run out to 19-4, and taking a 23-8 lead at the 12:45-mark of the first half. A three-pointer from Brinkley Jr. at the 9:43-mark gave the Lions a 30-12 lead, and they would extend its advantage out to as many as 25 points at the 6:29-mark. The Cyclones held the Lions scoreless for the next 3:33 as they scored 11-straight points to cut the lead down to 40-26. However, the Lions closed the first half on an 11-4 run that was capped by a three-pointer from Brown with two seconds left to take a 51-30 lead into the locker rooms.
 
Albright opened its lead back up to 22 points at 57-35 with 17:03 left in regulation, but the Cyclones made their biggest charge of the game with an 18-3 run to cut the Lions advantage down to seven points at 60-53. However, the Lions responded with an 11-2 run to go up 71-55 at the 11:31-mark of the second half. All 11 points in that span were scored by Majekodunmi, with the final three baskets all being three-pointers. Majekodunmi continued to stay hot from the field as he tallied his fourth three-pointer in just over two minutes to put the Lions up 75-59 at the 10:12-mark. Albright was able to extend its lead back out to 18 points following a three-point play from Simmons at the 9:11-mark, and eventually made it a 20-point game at 86-66 with 7:41 left in regulation. The Cyclones were able to get within 14 points at 88-74 with 6:18 left in regulation, but they would get no closer the rest of the way. Albright built its lead back out to as many as 22 points before putting the finishing touches on their first 100-point game since scoring 101 against Hood back on January 31^st, 2018. It was the most points in a game for the Lions since posting 107 points against Penn State Berks on November 15^th, 2017.
 
The Lions shot 48.7 percent (38-of-78) from the field, and went 44.1 percent from beyond the arc behind matching a season-high with 15 three-pointers. Albright went 15-of-24 (62.5%) from the free throw line, and scored 36 fast break points. The Lions also scored 21 points off 20 Cyclone turnovers in the win. Meanwhile, the Cyclones shot 46.4 percent (32-of-69) from the field after shooting 57.1 percent in the second half. Centenary went 6-of-20 (30%) from beyond the arc, and 16-of-23 (69.6%) from the free throw line. The Cyclones got 45 points from its bench, and the teams each grabbed 43 rebounds.
 
Albright will travel to face Gwynedd Mercy in the ECAC Men's Basketball Tournament quarterfinals on Friday, March 6^th at 11 a.m. The Griffins will be hosting the remainder of the ECAC tournament.