READING, Pa. – The Arcadia University men's basketball team suffered an 80-72 setback at the hands of Alvernia Wednesday night in Reading, Pennsylvania. The loss dropped the Knights to 7-6 on the season and 2-2 in MAC Commonwealth competition, the Crusaders improved to 8-5 on the season and 3-2 in conference play.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: After finding themselves down five just over two and a half minutes in, the Knights battled back to claim a 12-11 lead following a three from senior Ryan Kelley two minutes later. The three sparked a 14-5 run for Arcadia that culminated in a layup from sophomore Josh Scott to put the team in front by a score of 23-16 with 12:38 to go until the break. Alvernia stormed back with a 13-3 run over the next 4:17 to tilt the see-saw affair back in its favor by a three-point margin with 8:21 left in the opening frame. Trailing by a score of 38-35 with three and a half minutes to go, Kelley converted another three to spark a 9-0 half-ending run, which he closed out with a pair of free throws to send Arcadia to the break with a 44-38 advantage.
 
The hosts regained the lead three minutes into the second half in the midst of a 15-4 spurt that ended in a 53-48 Crusader lead five minutes in the frame. The back-and-forth runs continued as the Knights recaptured the lead as part of an 11-2 run that ended with Arcadia ahead by a score of 59-55 courtesy of a three from sophomore Jordan Sanders just past the midway point. The Knights held a two point lead with 4:28 to go before the hosts rattled of 12 straight points to open a game-high 10-point lead with just over two minutes to play. After scoring the next six points, Arcadia cut its deficit to just four with 1:01 on the clock, however efficient free throw shooting from Alvernia guided it to the win.
 
ARCADIA LEADERS: Kelley led the Knights with 21 points on 7-8 shooting from the floor, including 3-3 from distance, and a 4-5 effort from the charity stripe. Sophomore Evan Slone added 16 points, with classmate Kyle Reilly contributing 10. Scott hauled in a game-high 11 rebounds, nearly completing the double-double with eight points.
 
ALVERNIA LEADERS: Mike Miller led all scorers with 22 points, with George Williams adding 19 and Marquis Marshall scoring 10. Steve Pendleton led the team with seven rebounds.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Arcadia shot 47.5% (28-59) from the floor, including 8-20 (40%) from beyond the arc, while converting 8-13 (61.5%) from the free throw line. Alvernia went 27-58 (46.6%) from the floor, including 44.8% (13-29) from distance, while converting 13-19 (68.4%) from the free throw line. The Knights held the advantage in the paint by outscoring the Crusaders 28-20, along with a 20-11 difference in points off turnovers.