READING, Pa. – The Albright men's basketball team earned a 79-71 win over Stevenson in MAC Commonwealth play at the Bollman Center on Friday night to complete a home-and-home series sweep.
 
With the win, the Lions tally their fourth-straight win to improve to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in MAC Commonwealth play. Meanwhile, the Mustangs fall to 3-5 overall and in conference play.
 
Junior Corey Simmons led the Lions with a team-high 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Simmons, the Lions leading scorer, grabbed five rebounds as well along with one assist. Sophomore Jordan Guerrero posted a line of 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and one assist while senior Sidney Brown recorded 11 points behind going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Senior Samuel Majekodunmi rounded out the Lions in double-figures for scoring with 10 points along with adding three rebounds and two steals.
 
The Lions jumped on the Mustangs after Stevenson scored the first basket of the game as they raced out to a 12-4 lead at the 14:37-mark. Albright continued to control play early by extending its lead out to 20-6 at the 11:49-mark following a pair of free throws from Majekodunmi. Stevenson was unable to get the deficit under double-digits for a long stretch of the first half as the Lions grabbed a 16-point lead at 35-19 with 5:19 left until halftime. However, the Mustangs were finally able to make a run at the Lions lead with an 11-2 burst over a span of 3:51 to pull within 37-30 at the 48-second mark. Stevenson had a chance in the final seconds to draw closer before sophomore Sean Miller stole a Mustang pass and raced down the floor for a layup to conclude the first half.
 
Albright scored five quick points to open the second half to take a 44-30 lead at the 18:47-mark following a three-pointer from Brown. The Lions then took their largest lead of the game at 54-36 with 13:42 left in regulation after a dunk from senior Isaiah Harris. Stevenson battled back by going on an 18-4 run over the span of 4:09, cutting the Lions lead down to four points at 58-54 with 8:05 remaining in regulation. Albright made just one field goal during that stretch while Mustangs guard Norman Hughes went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. The Mustangs got within two points of the Lions at 60-58 with 6:51 remaining in regulation before Albright rattled off five-straight points to go back up 65-58. Hughes continued to carry the Mustangs as he made back-to-back three-pointers to pull Stevenson within one point at 65-64 with left in regulation. The Lions squashed the threat with back-to-back layups to go up 69-64 at the 3:54-mark, and would not let the lead get down under three points for the rest of the game. Albright went 5-of-6 down the stretch from the free throw line to close the Mustangs out.
 
The Lions shot 43.1 percent (28-of-65) from the field and 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from beyond the arc. Albright went 18-of-27 (66.7%) from the free throw line and held a slight 36-33 rebounding advantage. The Lions held a dominant 22-5 second chance point advantage despite the tight rebound margin. Meanwhile, the Mustangs went 22-of-54 (40.7%) from the field and 8-of-22 (36.4%) from beyond the arc. Stevenson went 19-of-27 (70.4%) from the free throw line in the loss.
Hughes finished with a game-high 28 points off the bench behind six made three-pointers and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. KJ Holton posted a line of 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
 
The Lions will return to action on Thursday, March 11^th as they will travel to face crosstown rival Alvernia at 7 p.m.