READING, Pa. – The Albright men's basketball team claimed a dominant 86-62 victory over Johnson & Wales (RI) in the Double Tree Holiday Tournament at the Bollman Center on Wednesday.
 
With the win, the Lions improve to 4-6 overall and will advance to the championship round of the tournament where they will face Mary Washington. Meanwhile, the Wildcats fall to 3-5 overall and will compete in the consolation game tomorrow against Goucher at 2 p.m.
 
Senior Sidney Brown led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field and 5-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc. Brown was active on both sides of the ball as he also added seven rebounds and a career-high nine assists. Junior Jordan Guerrero followed with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 2-for-4 from three-point range and tallied four rebounds and two blocks. Senior Isaiah Harris notched ten points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field, four rebounds, and two assists. Senior Deion Booker and junior Zyon Grant contributed eight points while junior Sean Miller added seven.
 
Albright got off to a hot start, going on a 15-3 sparked by a basket from Brown off the opening tip-off and capped off with a pair of free throws from Grant run to open the game. J&W finally got their footing and scored seven unanswered points to close the gap 15-10 at the 11:34-mark. Consecutive buckets from sophomore Chris Kouemi and first-year Eric Chamberlain put Albright ahead by ten again. The Lions then continued on a 15-4 run to pull ahead 34-14 with 3:18 remaining in the first. The two teams traded baskets in the final minutes of the first half, but Guerrero netted the final basket to give the Lions a 40-18 lead entering the break.
 
The Wildcats came out of the half with fresh legs as they went on a 12-3 run within the first three minutes of the second half that cut their deficit to 13 points. Brown stopped the run with an and-one play to bring the score to 46-30 at the 16:17-mark. J&W used a 7-3 advantage that gave them their best chance at closing the gap with a 12-point deficit at the 14:23-mark. Albright used a timeout to gain back their momentum that sparked a 12-0 run and claim their largest lead at 24-points with 12:04 remaining. The Wildcats finally snapped the run with a three-pointer that sparked an 18-10 advantage to bring the score to 71-55 with 6:01 remaining. The lions then went on a 6-1 run that was capped off with a massive dunk from Harris to give Albright a 21-point lead. The two teams continued to trade baskets, but sophomores Shane Holland and Bryan Gambrill each netted a basket to close out the game and solidify Albright's 86-62 victory.
 
The Lions shot 34-for-69 (49.3%) from the field, 13-for-38 (34.2%) from beyond the arc, and 5-for-8 (62.5%) from the charity stripe. Albright posted 38 points in the paint and saw 24 points off the bench. The Lions also won the battle on the glass 48-33. Meanwhile, the Wildcats shot 23-for-65 (35.4%) from the floor, 8-for-22 (36.4%) from three-point range, and 8-for-12 (66.7%) from the free-throw line. J&W tallied 18 points in the paint and 16 points off Albright turnovers.
 
The Lions will face Mary Washington in the championship round of the Double Tree Holiday Tournament tomorrow at 4 p.m. in the Bollman Center.