­­­POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Albright men's basketball team was unable to overcome Wesleyan to open the Vassar Tip-Off Tournament as they fell 105-62 on Friday evening.
 
With the loss, the Lions fall to 1-1 overall. Meanwhile, the Cardinals open up their 2021 season 1-0 overall.
 
Albright saw 11 different players score on the evening as senior Troy Smoot led the way with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and a near perfect 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. Senior Isaiah Harris scored nine points off the bench on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and added three rebounds. Senior Sidney Brown had a team-leading five rebounds and added two assists, two steals, and seven points on 3-of-12 shooting from the field. Senior Corey Simmons netted eight points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, while junior Jordan Guerrero pulled down four rebounds and added six points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field. First-year Eric Chamberlain also added six points off the bench for the Lions as he shot 3-for-6 from the field.
 
Simmons netted the first bucket of the game with an assist from Guerrero to get the Lions started, but the Cardinals responded with 10 unanswered points to give them a 10-2 lead in the opening four minutes of action. Chamberlain then sparked a 9-0 run by the Lions that was capped off with a three from Harris to put them ahead by one at the 14:19-mark of the first half. A Wesleyan free-throw snapped the run, but Albright continued their momentum with back-to-back baskets from Brown and senior Deion Booker as the Lions took a 16-11 lead at the 11:24-mark. The Cardinals then went on a 16-3 run to claim a 27-19 lead with just under seven minutes left in the half. Harris slowed down the run with a layup to cut the Lions deficit to six, but back-to-back three pointers for the Cardinals would put them ahead by 12 at the 5:28-mark. The two teams continued to trade baskets, but Wesleyan got the final word with the last basket of the half as they held a 44-33 lead.
 
The Cardinals were well rested coming out of the break as they scored 15 unanswered points in the opening minutes of the second half. Brown was able to snap the run with a bucket at the 16:33-mark, but the Lions were unable to slow the Cardinals down who then went on a 15-5 run to claim a 74-40 lead at the 11:47-mark. Junior Sean Miller was able to knock down his second three pointer of the game to low down the run as the two teams then continuously traded basket. Despite the Lions attempts to chip away at their deficit, the Cardinals were able to take their largest lead at 44 points with three minutes to spare. Sophomore Dylan McGinley closed out the game with a pair of free throws, but unfortunately for Albright they suffered a 105-62 loss to Wesleyan.
 
Albright shot 25-of-62 (40.3%) from the field, 8-of-24 (33.3%) from beyond the arc, and 4-of-6 (66.7%) from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Wesleyan shot 42-of-73 (57.5%) from the field, 12-of-23 (52.2%) from the three-point line, and 9-of-11 (81.8%) from the charity stripe. The Cardinals also won the battle on the boards 36-28.
 
Albright will compete in the consolation game of the Vassar Tip-Off Tournament against the host, Vassar, tomorrow at 1 p.m.