READING, Pa. – The fifth-seeded Arcadia University men's basketball team was outscored 20-13 in the extra period as it dropped an 87-80 overtime decision at fourth-seeded Alvernia University in the first round of the 2015 Commonwealth Conference Championship Tournament Monday night.
 
The Crusaders improved to 16-9 for the season and will next face top-seeded Lycoming College Wednesday night in the conference tournament semifinals. The Knights fell to 14-12 overall and will await the announcement of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship field to see if their season continues.
 
Junior guard Charles Cooper scored eight of his game-high 31 points in the extra frame to lead Alvernia to the win, going 8 of 18 overall from the floor with seven threes and making each of his eight free throw attempts. Senior center Harrison Deyo added 21 points, six of which were in overtime, on 9 of 14 shooting from the field and a 3 for 4 performance at the stripe, while freshman guard Mike Miller netted 16 points.
 
Junior guard John Landro scored 17 points with five rebounds and three steals to lead Arcadia, while senior guard Torrell Candelaria and sophomore guard Ryan Kelley added 13 points each. Senior forward Jose Figueroa finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore forward Alex Cohen chipped in with 10 points and five boards off the bench.
 
Senior forward Joe Brown was held to 10 points and six rebounds, while senior guard Travis Saltus was limited to just two points in 19 minutes off the bench; both were well below their season averages.
 
Points were hard to come by early, but the Knights managed to go on an early nine-point run to take an 11-5 lead five minutes into the game, but the Crusaders answered with an 11-3 surge over the next three minutes to take a 16-14 lead. The early advantage proved to be Arcadia's only lead of the game.
 
Alvernia led by as many as eight in the opening frame before settling for a 41-36 lead at the half after Candelaria drained three free throws with nine seconds left in the period. The Crusaders were able to maintain a multi-possession lead for most of the second half and were once again up eight after a three from Cooper gave them a 67-59 lead with 3:05 left in regulation, but the Knights scored the final eight points of the second half to send the game to overtime.
 
Landro started that run with a traditional three-point play, making a layup as he was fouled and hitting the free throw that followed on the trip following Cooper's three, and Figueroa cut Arcadia's deficit to three after making a layup with 51 seconds on the clock. Landro then tied after draining a three with 30 seconds left to tie it at 67 and force the extra period.
 
Both teams had a chance to win in regulation, but neither could secure the game in the closing seconds of the period. Miller's three was off the mark and Cohen controlled the rebound with six seconds left on the clock, but Arcadia was unable to get a shot off before time expired in the second half.
 
The two teams traded baskets to start the overtime period before a three from Miller put the Crusaders up 75-69 midway through the period and a six-point run that followed was capped by a dunk from Deyo that put Alvernia up by a game-high 10 points, 71-61 with under a minute to go. Cooper went 6 for 6 at the line in the closing 27 seconds to secure the win for the Crusaders.