GLENSIDE, Pa. – The Arcadia University men's basketball team held off a strong second half charge from visiting Albright College to record a 72-69 MAC Commonwealth victory Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium. The Knights improved to 12-4 overall and 5-2 in conference play with the win, while the Lions dropped to 6-10 overall and 3-4 in league action.
Junior
Ryan Kelley and senior
John Landro sparked the Knight offense in the first half with lights out shooting from the field. Kelley led all scorers with 18 points in the frame o 7 of 10 shooting, while Landro deposited 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting. Trailing 4-0 early, Landro converted the and-one for the first points of the night for Arcadia just over two minutes in; the play set off a 13-0 run that claimed nearly four minutes of the clock. It would be a
Kyle Reilly three just over four minutes in that put Arcadia in front by a 6-4 margin for a lead the Knights never surrendered.
With The Scarlet and Grey ahead 13-9, the teams went basket for basket over the next eight minutes and change leading to a 27-19 Knight lead with just over six minutes to go until the half. Kelley put a stop to that trend scoring the next five points on a three and a jumper to life the Knights to a 32-19 advantage with four and a half minutes to go. Closing the half on a 7-0 run, Arcadia took a 44-27 lead to the break.
The Lions controlled the second half allowing Arcadia to get on a run just once as
Brandon Thompson drilled a three and
Keith Bacote converted a layup and a free throw to life the Knights to a 61-50 advantage half way through the period. The defense stayed strong to withstand the Lion comeback attempt as it never relinquished the lead.
Kelley finished with a game-high 23 points with Landro dropping 20. A 16-4 difference in the turnover department played hugely in favor of Arcadia as the Knights scored 18 points off turnovers compared to just six for Albright. The Lions saw three double-figure scorers led by Evan Ward and Dejaun Smith with 15 each; Omari Ringgold added 11.
The Knights head back to the road as they travel to Widener on Wednesday night.
