The Lions struggled out of the gate, taking nearly five minutes to get on the scoreboard. Penn College scored the first five points of the game before Kyle Brudvig scored in the paint 4:45 into the contest to get Albright going. The Lions drew even at seven two minutes later on an Albert Medoro lay up, then took the lead on another Brudvig lay in on the break. Craig Flint's second three of the game gave the lead back to the Wildcats at 10-9, but Medoro's jumper gave the Lions a lead they would not relinquish with 10:39 to play in the half. Penn College hung around, and did tie the score at 17 with 5:36 left before the break. Albright began to pull away from there, using back-to-back three's from C.J. Jewell and Greg Conroy to begin a 12-2 run that saw Albright lead 29-19 with two minutes remaining in the half. The Lions would hold an eight point advantage, 33-25, at intermission.
Albright turned up the defensive intensity in the second half, allowing just four Wildcat points in the first 10 minutes of action. The Lions methodically pulled away over that span, jump started by six quick points off the bench from Alex Schneider, to build their biggest lead of the night, 52-29, midway through the second half. Penn College would not get closer than 15 points the rest of the way as Albright put away the victory.
Tom Murphy was the only Lion to reach double figures in a game that saw 14 Lions find their way into the scoring column. Murphy finished with 11 points and six rebounds, with Conroy and Schneider each adding nine points. Albright held a big advantage on the boards, pulling down 45 rebounds to 24 for the Wildcats. The Lions also had 19 assists in the game, led by freshman Justin Plummer with five. Flint was the only Wildcat to reach double figures, finishing with a game-high 13 points.
Albright will face New Jersey City University, a 59-56 winner over Lycoming in the opening game of the evening, Saturday afternoon at 4:00 in the championship game of the tournament. Penn College and Lycoming will meet at 2:00 in the consolation game.
Newspaper Box Score Penn College vs Albright 1/5/07 8:00 pm at Bollman Center - Reading, PA At Bollman Center - Reading, PA ALBRIGHT 73, PENN COLLEGE 48 PENN COLLEGE (2-10) Craig Flint 4-12 2-3 13; Ryan Scott 3-10 0-0 9; Tom Little 3-6 2-2 8; Jameel McAfee 3-4 0-0 6; Joe Simon 2-7 0-1 4; Roberto Valentin 2-5 0-1 4; Anthony Sofranek 1-1 0-0 2; Matt Michaels 1-6 0-1 2; Jose Rosa 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-53 4-8 48. ALBRIGHT (4-7) Tom Murphy 5-9 1-2 11; Alex Schneider 3-3 3-4 9; Greg Conroy 3-5 0-0 9; Kyle Brudvig 3-6 0-0 6; Albert Medoro 3-5 0-0 6; Casey Lawrence 2-4 0-0 5; Phil Hall 2-5 1-2 5; Michael Boles 1-2 2-2 4; Matt Bazsika 2-3 0-0 4; C.J. Jewell 1-3 0-0 3; Justin Plummer 1-2 1-1 3; John Bernat 1-2 0-0 3; Matt Kieselowsky 1-5 1-2 3; Andrew Strickler 0-1 2-2 2; Shane Harvey 0-0 0-0 0; Andre Murphy 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 28-58 11-15 73. Penn College.................. 25 23 - 48 Albright...................... 33 40 - 73 3-point goals-Penn College 6-18 (Craig Flint 3-7; Ryan Scott 3-6; Joe Simon 0-2; Roberto Valentin 0-1; Matt Michaels 0-2), Albright 6-16 (Greg Conroy 3-3; John Bernat 1-2; Casey Lawrence 1-3; C.J. Jewell 1-3; Justin Plummer 0-1; Matt Kieselowsky 0-1; Tom Murphy 0-3). Fouled out--Penn College-None, Albright-None. Rebounds-Penn College 24 (Matt Michaels 5), Albright 45 (Tom Murphy 6; Phil Hall 6). Assists-Penn College 10 (Matt Michaels 4), Albright 19 (Justin Plummer 5). Total fouls-Penn College 13, Albright 12. A-476