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Bobby Mullan’s 3-pointer lifts Alvernia men’s basketball over rival Albright

When Alvernia guard Bobby Mullan pulled up from beyond the arc in a tie game and buried a 3-pointer with just over a minute remaining, the Golden Wolves’ bench and the fans at Jack McCloskey Court erupted.

Mullan had given Alvernia its largest lead of the second half at the most opportune time.

“There’s nothing like it,” Mullan said. “It was a great shot, and I’m just grateful it went in.”

The go-ahead bucket proved to be the difference maker, as the Golden Wolves held on to secure an 88-83 victory over rival Albright in a Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth men’s basketball game on Saturday.

“Even though we were down the whole game, it still always felt like we were bound to come back at some point,” Mullan said. “No one ever got rattled.”

After trailing for the majority of the first half and second half, the Golden Wolves took a 72-71 lead — their first of the second half — with 5:47 remaining on a 3-point play from guard Malik Slay. The senior finished with 15 points off the bench.

The Lions responded with an 8-2 run to make it 79-74 with 4:06 to play. Alvernia roared right back, tying the game 79-79 and later 81-81 with 2:36 to go.

Slay hit a pair of free throws with under two minutes left before Albright forward Chris Kouemi made it 83-83 with a jumper. The Golden Wolves re-took the lead 17 seconds later with Mullan’s 3-pointer.

“It shows that even when we’re down, we know that we can come back no matter what the score is,” Mullan said. “We know that we can hang with anyone.”

Alvernia came up with defensive stops on Albright’s next two possessions before Golden Wolves center Kyle Gordon sank two free throws to seal the win.

“Down the stretch, we just got enough stops and kept scoring,” Alvernia coach Mike Miller Jr. said. “That was the difference.”

Mullan, a senior, led Alvernia with 26 points. Gordon, also a senior, had 19 points and 10 rebounds.

“It was ugly, but give our veterans credit,” Miller Jr. said. “They made big plays on offense and defense and that’s why we won.”

Despite leading for only five minutes and 12 seconds of total game time, the victory was the Golden Wolves’ fourth in a row. Alvernia (2-0, 10-3) has defeated rival Albright (1-1, 8-5) six straight times since March 12, 2021.

“It’s huge,” Mullan said about the win. “We already know that we get their best game, no matter what.”

The two sides were largely even in the opening stages before the Lions went on a 14-6 run midway through the first half to take a 25-17 lead. The Golden Wolves responded with a 17-9 run to tie it 34-34 late in the first half.

“We couldn’t get enough consistent stops,” Miller Jr. said about his team’s first-half performance. “Every time we were starting to score there, we gave up an easy drive.”

Albright led 43-37 at the half and for the first 11 minutes of the second half before the Golden Wolves tied it 65-65 with 8:40 to play. The Lions were led by guard Robert Mangum, who finished with 19 points.

“We were lucky to win today,” Miller Jr. said about Albright. “They played better than us.”

With the win, Alvernia remains tied for first place in the MAC Commonwealth standings. They have scored 82 or more points in their last three games.

“We got to keep finding different ways to win,” Miller Jr. said. “We did that tonight, and if we want to be successful we got to continue to do that.”


Source: Berkshire mont

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