Misericordia (6-10, 4-5 PAC) closed within six points three times in the first half, but found itself down 13 at the break and never within nine in the second half. The Cougars put a pair of players in double figures led by Evan Donegan (Springfield, VA/Paul VI Catholic) who scored 11 and Matthew Hornak (Montrose, PA/Montrose Area) who added 10. Sophomore Vinny Baumunk (Dushore, PA/Sullivan County), who came in leading the team at 15.2 per game was held to four points, largely due to the defensive efforts of Alvernia sophomore Tyrone Bradley (Chester, PA/Chester).
Bradley’s layup opened the scoring and King’s 3 put the hosts up 11-0 four minutes later. CM cut it the six, 13-7, but freshman reserve Nick Rivera (Reading, PA/Holy Name) pushed the lead to eight points. Zach Westmoreland (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown West) and sophomore Terrence Shawell (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) followed with buckets on successive possessions to keep the gap at eight, and when Westmoreland forced a turnover in the backcourt and Shawell hammered home a thunderous dunk, the lead was 16, and the Cougars needed to talk it over.
CM hit a 3 on the other side of the timeout and remained down 13 at the break, 32-19. Alvernia held a decided 20-4 advantage on points in the paint in the first half and a 14-4 advantage in points off turnovers.
CM slowly trimmed that gap to nine twice in the early parts of the second half, but Etzel’s 3 at 7:24 pushed the gap to 18 and Shawell and King hit back-to-back 3s for a 22 point lead. Alvernia finished the night 8-of-16 from the arc and shot 46 percent from the floor. Shawell finished the night with 16 points for the Crusaders.
Alvernia will travel to Wesley College on Thursday for a 7:00 p.m. match up with the Wolverines.
Alvernia 65, Misericordia 49