READING, Pa. – The Albright men's basketball team opened up the 2021-22 season in the Bollman Center on Sunday with a thrilling 87-83 win over Immaculata.
 
With the win, the Lions begin the season on a high note with a 1-0 record. Meanwhile, the Mighty Macs fall to 1-1 overall.
 
Senior guard Sidney Brown led the Lions with a career-high 32 points on 11-of-20 shooting and a career-high eight made three pointers. Brown also tallied a game-leading five steals and grabbed six rebounds. Senior Corey Simmons followed with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and added six rebounds and two blocks. Senior Troy Smoot netted 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting and 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. Smoot also added four assists. Junior Sean Miller had a team-high eight rebounds and matched Smoot with four assists.
 
Simmons got the Lions rolling early, posting the first three buckets of the game to claim a 6-0 lead over the Mighty Macs at the 18:15-mark of the first half. Immaculata got on the board with a three pointer in transition, but Smoot answered with a three of his own to put the Lions up 9-3 at the 17:28-mark. The Mighty Macs responded with a layup, but back-to-back baskets for Brown from beyond the arc and bucket from junior Jordan Guerrero gave the Lions a 12-point lead at the 15:45 left in the half. Immaculata then went on a 15-5 run to cut their deficit to just two at the 12:51-mark. Albright built their lead back to twelve with ten unanswered points, bringing the score to 32-20 with 10:42 left in the half. Two layups and back-to-back three pointers got the Mighty Macs back within reach as they cut their deficit to 32-30 at the 7:40-mark. The Lions brought their lead up to 12 twice more throughout the remainder of the half and a pair of free throws from Guerrero gave Albright a 52-40 lead entering the break.
 
Immaculata came out of halftime with a 12-4 run in the first eight minutes of the second half to cut their deficit to 56-52. Albright used a 12-3 run to take their largest lead of the game at 13 points, highlighted by two three-pointers and a layup from Brown and capped off with a pair of free-throws by first-year Eric Chamberlain, at the 10:12-mark. The two teams then continued to trade baskets, but the Mighty Macs rallied in the final five minutes of action with a 16-4 run to tie the game up for the first time since tip-off at 82. However, the Lions finished what they started in the final minute of action, posting five points and a gritty defensive effort with two steals to solidify their 87-83 victory over the Mighty Macs.
 
Albright went 32-of-74 (43.2%) from the field, 11-of-25 (44.0%) from beyond the arc, and 12-of-19 (63.2%) from the charity stripe. The Lions converted 23 points off 19 caused turnovers and tallied 38 points in the paint. Meanwhile, Immaculata shot 30-of-68 (44.1%) from the field, 12-of-26 (46.2%) from the three-point line, and 11-of-20 (55.0%) from the free throw line. The Mighty Macs also converted 23 points off of the Lions' turnovers and 32 points in the paint. The battle for rebounds was almost even, with a 45-44 margin in favor of Albright.
 
The Lions will return to action and open up the Vassar Tip-Off Tournament with Wesleyan on Friday at 8 p.m.