ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Albright Lions men's basketball team defeated Lebanon Valley 82-77 to win the 2021 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Commonwealth Men's Basketball Championship on Thursday night.
The conference championship is the first for the Lions since the 2009-10 season, and the 11
th overall in school history. Albright will finish the 2021 season 7-3 overall, while the Dutchmen will finish 8-3.
Junior
Corey Simmons was named MAC Commonwealth Championship Game MVP after registering his fourth double-double of the season behind a game-high 24 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field and 12 rebounds. Senior
Samuel Majekodunmi posted 17 points, four assists, and three rebounds off the bench while sophomore
Jordan Guerrero tallied 15 points and four rebounds. Senior
Sidney Brown added eight points and three rebounds in the win.
Brown got things going for the Lions in the opening minute as he hit a three-pointer to give the Lions the early 3-2 lead. The Dutchmen responded with an 11-5 run to go up 13-7 at the 13:37-mark, their largest lead of the game. A three-pointer form sophomore
Robert Mangum cut the deficit down to 13-10 at the 13:28-mark before the Dutchmen with a short 5-2 burst to go up 17-12 with 11:25 left in the first half. A three-point play from Simmons on the following possession sparked an 18-6 run over the span of 7:10 for the Lions to put them up 30-23 at the 4:11-mark of the first half. Guerrero gave the Lions their largest lead of the half at 37-27 following a three-pointer with at the 2:40-mark, and they would carry a 39-30 advantage at halftime after the teams traded baskets in the final minute.
Simmons kept the Lions momentum rolling with the first points of the second half at the 17:55-mark to put the Lions up 41-30. Down 45-34, the Dutchmen began mounting a comeback as they went on a quick 7-2 burst to make it a 47-41 game at the 15:01-mark. The Lions responded with three-straight points to go up 50-41 at the 13:48-mark before Lebanon Valley reeled off a 10-2 run to make it a one-point game at 52-51. Following a timeout, the Lions slammed the door shut on the Dutchmen rally with a 15-1 run over the span of just less than four minutes to take their largest lead of the game at 67-52 with 7:52 remaining in regulation. Lebanon Valley cut back into the Lions lead again with a 10-1 run to make it a six-point game at 68-62 with 5:18 left in the second half. Senior
Isaiah Harris ended the run with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to put the Lions up 71-62. The Dutchmen worked the deficit back down to four points at 73-69 following a three-point play with 2:08 left in regulation, but that would be as close as they would get the remainder of the way. Majekodunmi responded with a jumper on the ensuing possession, and would score the final nine points for the Lions behind going 7-of-9 from the free throw line.
The Lions shot 49.2 percent (29-of-59) from the field and 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from three-point range. Albright went 15-of-25 (60%) from the free throw line and held a 13-3 edge in second chance points. Meanwhile, the Dutchmen shot 54.4 percent (30-of-55) from the field and went just 4-of-13 (30.8%) from three-point range. Lebanon Valley went 13-of-18 (72.2%) from the free throw line and held a slight 29-27 edge in rebounds.
Justin Baker matched Simmons with a game-high 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field for the Dutchmen, while adding seven rebounds. Collin Jones posted 18 points and seven rebounds and Luis Garcia posted a line of 14 points, four assists, and two rebounds.
