READING, Pa. – The Albright College men's basketball team earned its first victory of the season on Wednesday night, holding off a late comeback attempt by Penn State Berks to secure a 96-91 win.
The Lions (1-1) found themselves trailing for much of the early action, falling behind by as many as eight points with 9:36 remaining in the first half. Albright responded with an impressive offensive surge, using a 28-10 run over the next eight minutes to take its largest lead of the half at 52-42. The Nittany Lions (1-2) trimmed the deficit to five points before halftime, sending the teams into the break with Albright holding a 53-48 advantage.
The Lions continued to build on their lead coming out of the locker room, pushing the margin to a game-high 14 points (81-67) with 10:59 remaining in regulation. Penn State Berks gradually chipped away at the deficit, eventually pulling within four points at 94-90 with just 1:02 remaining. Jace Conrad came through with a pair of clutch free throws, and Albright's defense stood firm in the closing moments to secure the first victory of the Matt Chalupa era.
Akhir Keys paced all scorers with 29 points, knocking down seven of his 11 attempts from beyond the arc while converting all four of his free-throw attempts. Joey Callahan added 14 points, including four three-pointers, while Aleksander Torbica and Conrad each contributed 10 points. Torbica also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, while Miles Smith dished out a game-high six assists to go along with five points and four rebounds.
Penn State Berks was led by Zach Prator with 22 points, followed by Nicholas Sosa with 18. Malik Osumanu and Quentin Wright each added 16 points and combined for 19 rebounds.
Albright found its rhythm from beyond the arc, connecting on 50.0 percent (16-of-32) of its three-point attempts compared to just 28.6 percent (6-of-21) for the Nittany Lions. Both teams also found success at the free-throw line, with the Lions shooting 72.7 percent (16-of-22) and Berks converting 75.0 percent (21-of-28).
Up Next:
The Lions return home on Saturday, November 14, to host Swarthmore College in their Morgan's Message Dedication Game. Tipoff for the non-conference matchup is scheduled for 2 p.m.
