READING, Pa. – The Albright men's basketball team split their season series with York as they fell 86-74 in the Bollman Center on Tuesday.
With the loss, the Lions drop to 6-9 in the MAC Commonwealth and 10-13 overall. Meanwhile, the Spartans advance to 3-12 in conference and 7-13 overall.
Senior
Sidney Brown and junior
Robert Mangum both led the Lions on the evening with 19 points apiece. Brown shot 8-for-15 from the floor and 3-for-6 from beyond the arc and grabbed five rebounds and three steals while Mangum shot 8-for-11 from the field. Sophomore
Chris Kouemi added ten points behind 5-for-8 shooting, three rebounds, and three steals off the bench.
Albright came out firing away, opening the game up with a 16-9 advantaged fueled by Brown and Mangum. The two teams traded baskets, but Albright increased their lead to nine following a pair of free throws from junior
Zyon Grant and a basket from first-year
Eric Chamberlain which brought the score to 22-13. York began to heat up as they went on a 10-2 run to get within one of the Lions. Both exchanged baskets but York finally took their first lead of the game at the 4:13-mark. They closed the first half on a 10-3 run to hold a 36-33 lead entering the break.
It was a back-and-forth battle to open up the second half, but Mangum finally tied the game up at 40 with a three-pointer. York jumped back in front with a 9-2 run that gave them a 49-42 lead at the 14:19-mark. Albright stayed within reach until the Spartans knocked down three-straight three pointers, giving them their largest lead at 13 and bringing the score to 63-50 at the 6:50-mark. Albright used a 15-7 advantage to cut their deficit to 70-65 with just over three minutes remaining. The Lions were able to get within four points of the Spartans twice, but York kept their foot on the gas and closed out the game on a 12-4 run to solidify the 86-74 conference victory.
Albright shot 30-for-62 (48.4%) from the floor, 4-for-14 (28.6%) from beyond the arc, and 10-for-11 (90.9%) from the charity stripe. The Lions notched 40 points in the paint and saw 28 points off their bench. Meanwhile, York shot 27-for-50 (54.0%) from the field, 11-for-20 (55.0%) from three-point range, and 21-for-26 (80.8%) from the free-throw line. The Spartans won the battle on the glass 34-25, saw 40 points off their bench, and tallied 19 points off turnovers.
The Lions will close out the regular season on Saturday as they travel to Stevenson at 1 p.m.
