Sophomore Terrence Shawell (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) hit two 3s to open the game and finished with a game-high 20 points. Alvernia held its third opponent of the season under 50 points and improved to 7-0 when the opponent fails to reach 60.
Sophomore center Tyrone Bradley (Chester, PA/Chester) led the Crusaders (14-3, 9-1 PAC) to a 42-29 advantage on the glass with a game-high 12 rebounds, and senior Ryan Finger (Lancaster, PA/Lampeter Strasburg) handed out eight assists for the second straight game and third time this season.
Eastern got a team-best 11 points from Lenny DiMaria (Lincroft, NJ/Middletown South) and hit just 3-of-15 attempts from 3-point range.
The first four buckets of the game were scored from long range with Alvernia holding a 9-3 lead on King’s first of five at the 15:45 mark. The six-point edge doubled to 12 after Shawell capped another 9-3 spurt with his third 3 at 12:28. Eastern trimmed that gap to seven points, 18-11, but after a back-and-forth exchange that included Shawell’s fourth and final 3 of the day, King’s second 3 of the half finished an 8-2 run that put the hosts up 16 points, 35-19 with 1:53 left in the half.
Aggressive Alvernia defense inspired Eastern to not hold for the final shot of the half and junior David Volpe (Harleysville, PA/Christopher Dock) scored on a layup, but Finger answered with a jumper on the other end for a 37-21 halftime score.
King knocked down a jumper to open the second half and had his name called twice more on 3s to put Alvernia up 45-21 with 18:03 still to play. The lead hit 26 on a free throw from freshman Zach Westmoreland (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown West) with 9:10 to play and with most of the regulars cheering from the bench, it hit 29 points, the largest of the night, with 7:13 to go.
Alvernia shot 47 percent from the floor and 9-for-18 from the 3-point arc marking the fifth time the Crusaders have hit 50 percent or better from long range. The Maroon and Gold also improved to 12-0 when it leads at halftime.
Alvernia 70, Eastern 49