Strickland’s 21 rebounds ties Tillman Sims (’03) for most rebounds in a game. Strickland scored 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting during the first half as the Crusaders (21-6) jumped out to a 37-28 lead after the opening 20 minutes. Westminster, which switched to a fast-paced, 3-point shooting offense after starting its season 2-8, got off 21 3s in the first half, but connected just twice. Alvernia sophomore Lamar Brickus (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) scored 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, Alex West (Cheltenham, PA/LaMott) scored 11 points, and senior guard Cornell Merricks (Philadelphia, PA/Norristown) scored 10 points, all in the second half. The Titans (15-13) got scoring from nine different players led by sophomore forward Dom Joseph (New Castle, PA/New Castle) with nine points.
The Crusaders held Westminster to 18 percent from the arc (8-for-44) and outrebounded the guests, 49-32. Alvernia advances to the ECAC semi-final where it will face #6 Lebanon Valley, an 84-83 winner over #3 Ursinus, at 7:00 pm at top-seeded DeSales University. The other semi-final will feature #4 Albright, an 87-78 winner over #5 Johns Hopkins, at DeSales, which dismissed #8 Gettysburg with a 72-65 win in Allentown.
Alvernia raises its ECAC Tournament all-time record to 3-1 with the win. The Crusaders won the 1995 ECAC Title with wins over Grove City and DeSales (then Allentown College), and lost in the 2001 ECAC opener to Frostburg State.
#2 Alvernia 74, #7 Westminster 57 (ECAC Quarterfinal)
WESTMINSTER COLLEGE (15-13) Dom Joseph 3-11 2-2 9; Chris Hatch 2-5 2-2 8; Ed Pagley 3-13 0-0 8; Micah Delo 4-7 0-1 8; Brian Fadden 1-1 4-6 6; Mark DeMonaco 2-9 0-0 5; Nate Luce 1-3 2-2 5; Pat O'Connor 2-11 0-1 4; Randall Poindexter 1-3 1-2 4; Shane McCullough 0-1 0-0 0; John Lauterbach 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-65 11-16 57. ACMB (21-6) Ray Strickland 9-17 5-7 24; Lamar Brickus 4-8 4-6 12; Alex West 5-7 0-0 11; Cornell Merricks 4-7 2-3 10; Ryan Trupe 3-5 1-2 8; Zach Straining 1-3 4-6 6; Mike Brock 1-7 1-1 3; Josh Gerloff 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-55 17-25 74. Westminster College........... 28 29 - 57 ACMB.......................... 37 37 - 74 3-point goals-Westminster College 8-44 (Chris Hatch 2-5; Ed Pagley 2-11; Dom Joseph 1-4; Mark DeMonaco 1-8; Randall Poindexter 1-2; Nate Luce 1-3; Shane McCullough 0-1; Pat O'Connor 0-8; Micah Delo 0-2), ACMB 3-16 (Alex West 1-2; Ryan Trupe 1-3; Ray Strickland 1-3; Mike Brock 0-5; Josh Gerloff 0-1; Cornell Merricks 0-1; Lamar Brickus 0-1). Fouled out—Westminster College-None, ACMB-None. Rebounds-Westminster College 32 (Pat O'Connor 6), ACMB 49 (Ray Strickland 21). Assists-Westminster College 12 (Dom Joseph 3; Mark DeMonaco 3), ACMB 20 (Ray Strickland 5). Total fouls-Westminster College 20, ACMB 20. A-340