In desperate need of a basket, the Golden Wolves found themselves trailing by one to rival Albright with under 30 seconds to go.
With the game on the line, two of Alvernia’s seniors rose to the occasion.
In his first game back from an ankle injury, forward Jakob Kelly drove to the basket before nailing a short jumper to give the Golden Wolves a one-point lead with 21 seconds remaining.
“We knew we had to score on this possession,” Kelly said. “It was do or die.”
After junior guard Eric Chamberlain missed a go-ahead layup on the Lions’ ensuing possession, guard Bobby Mullan converted both ends of a 1-and-1 to give the Golden Wolves a three-point lead with just three seconds to play.
“I just tried to keep my composure,” Mullan said about the free throws. “As soon as I saw the first one go in, I thought we were going to be OK. (It) gave me the confidence to hit the second one.”
The three-point lead proved to be just enough, as Chamberlain scooped up a loose ball on Albright’s final possession and buried a deep jump shot as time expired.
While many inside the Bollman Center initially thought the basket was the game-tying 3-pointer, Chamberlain’s foot was on the 3-point line and the shot counted as two points, giving Alvernia a 73-72 win over the Lions in a drama-filled Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth men’s basketball game on Saturday.
“It was a crazy last possession,” Mullan said. “I’m just happy that it came out in our favor.”
The final 21 seconds encapsulated a game that featured eight lead changes and back-and-forth excitement for 40 minutes. The result marked the first game decided by one point in the series since a 111-110 double-overtime win for Albright in 2010.
“We just keep scrapping and scrapping,” Alvernia coach Mike Miller Jr. said. “When you do that, you usually can pull out these games at the end.”
Mullan finished the game with a team-high 21 points. He also had four rebounds and four assists.
“He’s been hitting big shots the whole year for us,” Miller Jr. said. “Those two foul shots at the end on the 1-and-1, they were huge.”
Kelly had 17 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists.
“I really give Jake a lot of credit,” Miller Jr. said about Kelly. “I can’t say enough about him. He’s just a gamer.”
With the victory, the Golden Wolves (5-3, 13-6) sweep the season series against Albright (2-6, 9-10). Alvernia has won the last seven meetings between the two rivals.
“I love playing against Albright,” Kelly said. “It’s a great atmosphere every time.”
Alvernia opened the game on a 14-5 run and extended its lead to 25-14 with just over seven minutes remaining in the half. However, Albright fired right back, orchestrating a 17-4 run to take a 31-29 lead.
“We just never gave up,” Kelly said. “We were just fighting adversity through the whole game.”
The Golden Wolves ended the half on an 8-0 run to lead 37-31 at the break. Alvernia shot 46.4 percent in the first half, while Albright shot just 25.7 percent.
The two teams traded baskets early in the second half before the Lions went on a 12-2 run to pull ahead 50-46 with just under 13 minutes remaining. The run was thanks in part to Chamberlain, who hit his stride in the second half and scored a game-high 25 points after being held scoreless in the first half.
The two teams traded baskets the rest of the way, with neither side leading by more than five at any point in the final 13 minutes. Albright held a 70-69 lead — its last lead of the game — with 40 seconds to go before points from Kelly and Mullan lifted the Golden Wolves to the win.
“This win just means so much to us going forward,” Mullan said. “Getting this win on the road against our rival, I think it can really just boost us into the rest of conference play.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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