Alvernia used solid defense to open up a 15-4 lead with 7:45 gone by in the first and a 22-2 run early in the second half to seal its 14th PAC win and set up what could be battle for the top seed in the conference tournament at Gwynedd-Mercy on Wednesday. Sophomore point guard Mike Brock (Royersford, PA/Spring Ford) also reached double-figures for the Crusaders (19-4, 14-1 PAC) with 10 points. Wesley sophomore Nick Minor (Annapolis, MD/Arundel) led all scorers with 17 points and Rufus Mincey (Morristown, NJ/Morristown) added 10 for the Wolverines (6-16, 3-11).
Merricks and fellow senior Ryan Trupe (Terre Hill, PA/Garden Spot) opened the scoring with back-to-back 3s, and after four from Wesley surrounding an Akeem Washington (Lancaster, PA/McCaskey) jumper, Alvernia ripped off a 7-0 run featuring two Zach Straining (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin East) assists for the 15-4 advantage. Wesley trimmed the lead down to six on two occasions before finally getting within five, 27-22, on a 3 from freshman Kris Behm (Wayne, PA/Conestoga) with 2:38 left in the half. Merricks hit a 3, one of just four in 14 first-half attempts for the Crusaders, and the hosts were back up eight, the edge they held at the half, 32-24.
Brock opened the second half with a 3 from the top of the key and following a Robert Gordy (Temperanceville, VA/Arcadia) bucket for Wesley, Alvernia scored 22 of the next 24 to put the game out of reach up 57-28. Strickland started the run outscoring Wesley 8-2 by himself over the run’s first 2:30. Wesley was able to cut the 29-point gap down to 17 with 5:31 to go, but could get no closer.
Wesley remains alive for the sixth and final PAC playoff spot with games at Eastern and home versus Cabrini. Alvernia will close the regular season at Gwynedd-Mercy on Wednesday.
Alvernia 73, Wesley 53
WESLEY COLLEGE (6-16, 3-11 PAC) Nick Minor 7-14 0-0 17; Rufus Mincey 2-9 6-6 10; Robert Gordy 3-6 2-2 8; Kris Behm 2-2 0-0 6; Dante Pegram 2-5 0-0 4; Tyrell Brown 1-3 0-0 2; Pat Woods 1-7 0-0 2; Jeremy Berkowitz 1-2 0-0 2; Jermaine Logan 1-3 0-0 2; Ronelle Peters 0-1 0-0 0; Josh Kline 0-1 0-0 0; Kevin Schulze 0-1 0-0 0; Pete Lancaster 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 20-57 8-8 53. ALVERNIA COLLEGE (19-4, 14-1 PAC) Ray Strickland 5-13 5-6 15; Cornell Merricks 5-12 2-2 15; Mike Brock 3-9 2-2 10; Steve Royles 4-7 1-3 9; Akeem Washington 4-8 1-2 9; Zach Straining 3-8 1-2 7; Alex West 2-3 1-2 5; Ryan Trupe 1-3 0-0 3; Tom Pender 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-64 13-19 73. Wesley College................ 24 29 - 53 Alvernia College.............. 32 41 - 73 3-point goals-Wesley College 5-15 (Nick Minor 3-5; Kris Behm 2-2; Dante Pegram 0-1; Pat Woods 0-3; Jermaine Logan 0-1; Kevin Schulze 0-1; Rufus Mincey 0-2), Alvernia College 6-22 (Cornell Merricks 3-8; Mike Brock 2-8; Ryan Trupe 1-1; Alex West 0-1; Ray Strickland 0-4). Fouled out—Wesley College-None, Alvernia College-None. Rebounds-Wesley College 32 (Rufus Mincey 10), Alvernia College 45 (Akeem Washington 10). Assists-Wesley College 14 (Kris Behm 4), Alvernia College 13 (Zach Straining 4). Total fouls-Wesley College 15, Alvernia College 12. A-336