READING, Pa. – The Albright men's basketball team suffered a 77-63 conference setback at local rival Alvernia on Wednesday.
 
With the loss, the Lions fall to 0-2 in MAC Commonwealth play and 2-4 overall. Meanwhile, the Golden Wolves advance to 2-1 in conference action and 7-4 overall.
 
Three Lions reached double figures in scoring as senior Sidney Brown led the way with 16 points on 7-for-17 shooting from the floor. Junior Zyon Grant followed with a career-high 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field and 2-for-4 from beyond the arc. Junior Jordan Guerrero added ten points on 5-for-14 shooting and tallied a team-leading four assists. Senior Isaiah Harris notched eight points on 3-for-6 shooting and grabbed four boards.
 
Albright scored eight unanswered points to open up the game, sparked by Brown and capped off by first-year Eric Chamberlain. Alvernia climbed back into reach scoring the next three buckets, but senior Zyon Grant notched back-to-back three pointers to put Albright up 14-8 at the 10:49-mark. The Golden Wolves stole the momentum back as they went on an 18-4 run to claim a 26-18 lead over the Lions at the 6:23-mark. Grant snapped the run with a layup, but the Golden Wolves responded with back-to-back baskets to claim a double-digit lead. Alvernia continued to build on their lead, pulling ahead by 13-points in the final two minutes, but Albright was able to net the final four points of the half bringing their deficit to 36-27.
 
Alvernia opened up the second half with a 6-2 run to extend their lead to 42-29. Albright responded with a big 11-6 run to cut their deficit to just eight points at the 14:21-mark. A three-point play and a three-pointer from the Golden Wolves snapped the Lions run as they increased their lead back to double digits. Harris then sparked an 11-3 run for Albright to get them back within five, bringing the score to 56-51 with 7:36 remaining in the game. Alvernia pulled ahead by ten again with just over five minutes left to play after scoring back-to-back baskets. The two teams continued to trade baskets, but unfortunately for the Lions they were unable to get closer than seven points to the Golden Wolves. Alvernia knocked down a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left to take their biggest lead at 16 points and solidify their win.  
 
Albright shot 26-for-63 (41.3%) from the field, 3-for-19 (15.8%) from beyond the arc, and 8-for-16 (50%) from the charity stripe. The Lions saw 29 points from the bench and netted 30 points in the paint. Meanwhile, Alvernia shot 26-for-55 (47.3%) from the field, 7-for-20 (35%) from beyond the arc, and 18-for-22 (81.8%) from the charity stripe. The Golden Wolves held a slight 37-35 rebound advantage and scored 20 points off caused turnovers.
 
The Lions return to action on Saturday at 3 p.m. to host Hood and continue MAC Commonwealth action.