NAPLES, Fla. – The Albright men's basketball team rallied from a 16-point deficit and defeated St. Mary's 61-58 in overtime at the D3 Naples Shootout on Sunday.
 
With the win, the Lions advance to 3-5 overall. Meanwhile, the Seahawks fall to 2-5 overall
 
Senior Sidney Brown led all scorers with 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field and 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. Junior Zyon Grant netted 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the floor and grabbed four rebounds. First-year Eric Chamberlain added 11 points off the bench behind 5-for-7 shooting from the field. Senior Isaiah Harris pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and added six points.
 
It was a back-and-forth battle during the opening minutes of the game, but the Seahawks took a 9-4 lead at the 14:07-mark that forced an Albright timeout. Brown got the Lions within three after knocking down a pair of free-throws and a jumper from beyond the arc, bringing the score to 12-9. The two teams traded baskets but St. Mary's was able to hang onto a seven-point lead at 18-11 with under ten minutes remaining in the first half. Senior Deion Booker hit a three-pointer to spark a 7-0 run that was capped off with a pair of free-throws from junior Sean Miller to tie the game up at 18 at the 6:30-mark. The Seahawks responded with an 11-3 run to pull ahead 29-21 with 1:44 left in the half. Back-to-back Lions baskets from Chamberlain and Brown got Albright within three, but the Seahawks notched the final basket of the half to claim a 31-26 lead at the break.
 
The Lions struggled to score to start the second half as the Seahawks went on a 13-2 run to take their largest lead at 16-points at the 13:04-mark. Sophomore Isaac Lapierre finally snapped the run with a jumper that sparked a 7-0 run for Albright to cut their deficit to 44-35 at the 10:46-mark. The Seahawks then earned back-to-back trips to the charity stripe and 4-for-4 to put them ahead by 13-points. The Lions then went on a big 15-3 run that featured five different scorers and tied the game up at 51 with 1:45 remaining in the second half. St. Mary's took the lead with a pair of free throws in the final minute, but Harris pulled a major offensive rebound and scored the put back layup with just three seconds left to tie the game at 53 and send it into extra frames.
 
Brown was clutch in the overtime, scoring seven of the Lions eight overtime points that led them to victory. He scored back-to-back baskets to give Albright a five-point lead with 2:12 remaining. St. Mary's got within four following a trip to the free throw line where they went 1-for-2, but Brown netted another basket to give Albright a 60-54 lead at the 1:20-mark. Miller knocked down the Lions final point from the free throw line that solidified their 61-58 win.
 
Albright shot 23-for-56 (41.1%) from the floor, 5-for-23 (21.7%) from beyond the arc, and 10-for-21 (47.6%) from the charity stripe. The Lions saw 20 bench points and scored 18 points off caused turnovers. Albright also won the battle on the boards 44-33. Meanwhile, St. Mary's shot 19-for-52 (36.5%) from the field, 7-for-18 (38.9%) from the three-point line, and 13-for-22 (59.1%) from the charity stripe. The Seahawks converted 25 points off Albright turnovers and scored 18 points in the paint.
 
The Lions return to action tomorrow against Berry in the final day of the D3 Naples Shootout at 11 a.m.