READING Pa. – The Arcadia University men's basketball team came from behind to defeat Alvernia University, 84-82, in the Middle Atlantic Conference Crossover Challenge on Thursday night. The Knights ended the game on an 11-3 run to pull out the victory and end their 2021 campaign with a 7-4 overall record.
Da'Kquan Davis was the game's high scorer with 31 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.
Jalen Watkins,
Justin Money and
DJ Gardner also reached double figures for the Knights. Money scored 14 points as a starter, while Watkins and Gardner tallied 16 and 11, respectively, off the bench.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Knights hit three-pointers on three-straight possessions to pull ahead by 10 points, midway through the opening half. Money knocked down the first from long range, while Davis hit one from deep on back-to-back drives, 18-8.
- Later in the half, Alvernia climbed back into the game with a 9-0, which gave the squad its first lead since the opening minutes. Davis would regain the Knights lead with another three-pointer, before closing the half with one more from deep to put Arcadia ahead by one point, 37-36. Davis had a game-high 20 points, while shooting 4-for-6 from deep heading into halftime.
- Both teams traded the lead back-and-forth in the opening 10-minutes of the second half with seven total lead changes. Alvernia eventually took its largest lead of the game at six points with 3:17 remaining.
- Gardner began to chip away at the Golden Wolves six-point lead with a three-pointer on the following possession. Davis then brought the Knights within one point with a layup, while Watkins added back-to-back buckets to regain the lead, 82-79, with 36-seconds left. Gardner, who scored five of the team's 11 unanswered points, put the game out of reach with two late free throws to seal the victory.
KNIGHT LEADERS
- Points: Davis 31, Watkins 16, Money 14
- Assists: Davis 5, Kier 4
- Rebounds: Davis 14, Watkins 8
- Blocks: Kier/Watkins 2
TEAM COMPARISON
- Arcadia shot 48.5 percent from the field, while Alvernia was 37.3 percent.
- The Knights out-rebounded Alvernia, 44-41, and scored 38 points in the paint.
- Alvernia won the turnover battle, 13-7.
