Alvernia Holds Off Brandywine 88-73

READING, Pa. -- Alvernia led wire-to-wire and had to hold off a late charge from the Penn State Brandywine men's basketball team as the Lions suffered an 88-73 setback during their season opener on Saturday evening.

The Crusaders (2-0) jumped out to an 8-0 lead through 3 1/2 minutes before a pair of free throws from Marcus Turner (Claymont, Del./Chichester) put Brandywine on the board. The Lions narrowed the gap to three following Amir Johnson's (Philadelphia, Pa./Community Academy) jumper at the 12:11 mark, but Alvernia answered with 10 of the next 13 points to push its lead to double figures.

Brandywine was within eight on two occasions during the final six minutes; however, Alex Shippen drained a three-pointer with 15 seconds to play in the half, giving the Crusaders their largest lead at 13 heading into intermission.

Alvernia led by as many as 21 points midway through the second half before Brandywine began to chip away. Johnson drilled a triple with 5:25 to play, cutting the deficit to 17, and Jamil Stokes (Philadelphia, Pa./Creative Learning Academy) followed with a pair of buckets as Brandywine climbed within 13. Brandywine would trail by 13 three more times and cut the Crusader lead to 12 following Romier Williams' (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) jumper during the final three minutes, but Alvernia had an answer to each comeback bid, sinking 12-of-14 free throws down the stretch.

Johnson canned four three-pointers and 10-of-13 field goals overall to finish with a team best 24 points. Stokes, who pulled down five offensive rebounds, produced an 11-point, 11-board double-double, while Kenneth Murphy (Philadelphia, Pa./George Washington Carver) added eight points and Cyrie Spencer (Sharon Hill, Pa./Academy Park) grabbed seven boards.

Both teams shot 37 percent from the field and 76 percent from the free throw line; however, the difference in the game came at the charity stripe where the Crusaders make 60 trips, draining 46, while Brandywine went to the free throw line just 21 times and connected on 16. The Lions held a 46-39 edge on the glass.

Shippen, Mike Miller and Charles Cooper combined for 68 of Alvernia's 88 points.

Brandywine (0-1) looks to bounce back on Tuesday when it travels to Doylestown to face Delaware Valley at 7:00 pm.