Avery Walker understands his role for the Alvernia men’s basketball team.
He guards the best player on the other team, grabs some rebounds, passes to open teammates and maybe scores a few points.
Walker did all of that in the closing minutes of the Golden Wolves’ 76-71 victory over Albright in a MAC Commonwealth game before a frenzied crowd Saturday at Bollman Center.
He made a step-back jumper from the key with 1:43 left, giving Alvernia (8-4, 14-5) the lead for good against Albright (5-7, 9-11) in its sixth consecutive victory.
“I know my teammates trust me regardless if I make or miss,” Walker said. “I was confident in the shot.”
Not known for his offense, he made 6-of-12 field goal attempts and scored 16 points to hike his average to 9.9. A few moments before his go-ahead shot, he fed Gov. Mifflin grad Rece Harman for a layup after the Lions had taken a 71-68 lead.
“We know his defense is always going to be sound,” Wolves coach Mike Miller said. “But today he did everything we needed from him on offense. He had big rebounds and big passes. He made a couple 3s.”
A 6-1 junior, Walker was an offensive-minded player at Donegal High School until Kevin Dolan was hired as his coach his senior year. He worked to improve his defense and realized he liked it.
Walker has been the Wolves’ stopper and was named the MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year in 2019-20.
“You have to find your role and find out what the team needs and be that person,” he said. “That’s what I found out I could do when I actually put my mind to it. I realized it could be very beneficial to the team.”
Walker guarded Albright senior Sidney Brown and held him to 12 shots. Brown, however, made seven of them, including a 3-pointer after running off a high screen with 2:58 left. That put the Lions up by three, but they didn’t score again.
They committed two turnovers and missed three shots, including Troy Smoot’s layup that Harman blocked, on their final five possessions.
“It’s a fine line between winning and losing in February,” Albright coach Rick Ferry said. “If you make a few key mistakes at key times, that’s the difference. If you make a few key plays at key times, it’s a positive difference.
“They made one or two more plays than us when it counted.”
Keon Taylor scored 19 points to lead Alvernia. Jakob Kelly had 15 points, Mickeel Allen had 11 and Walker had a team-high six rebounds.
Brown had 17 points for Albright. Robert Mangum had 14 points and six rebounds and Dylan McGinley had a career-high 11 points while starting for Isaiah Harris, who missed his second straight game for academic reasons.
With the conference playoffs open to every team because of COVID-19, it’s possible the crosstown rivals will play a third time.
Albright has dropped three straight and is looking to get back on track, although the Lions played with tenacity. Alvernia would like to keep rolling into the playoffs, which begin Feb. 21.
The Wolves continued their streak with the help of a late basket from a guy whose offensive ability was in question early in his career.
“Avery’s an A student,” Miller said. “He’s always disciplined in class, so of course he’s disciplined in practice. He’s a super kid. We told him, ‘You can guard, but now you gotta be able to shoot.’
“He has worked on his offense. Before this year, when he was taking some of his shots, we were going, ‘Bad shot.’ Now it’s not a bad shot. We have confidence in him.”
Source: Berkshire mont