Four of the five Crusader starters shot 50 percent or better led by sophomore forward Damon Bogan (Oxford, PA/Oxford) who finished 3-for-3 from both the floor and the line for 10 points. Senior forward Zach Straining (Paxtang, PA/Central Dauphin East) finished with a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds going 9-of-13 from the floor.
Alvernia (4-1, 2-0 PAC) held a slight two point advantage, 13-11 eight minutes into play before establishing control with a 20-5 run that spanned 5:18 and featured six of the team’s 10 3-point buckets. Senior guard Lamar Brickus (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) nailed three straight from long range in a 90-second span to start the run and Mike Brock’s (Royersford, PA/Spring Ford) 3 at 6:54 put Alvernia up 17 points, 33-16.
The Cougars (0-5, 0-1) responded with four 3s during a 14-2 run that cut the gap to five points, but Alvernia was able to finish the half with six straight points to take an 11 point edge into the locker room, 41-30.
The lead grew to 14 points early in the second on a Straining 3 with just under 17 minutes left and after a Tony Rezykowski (Dimock, PA/Elk Lake) 3 cut the gap back to 11, Alvernia ran off 21 straight points holding the Cougars off the board for 7:03. Straining and Bogan led the Crusaders during the run with seven points apiece while the Cougars missed five shots from the floor and turned the ball over six times.
Senior forward Josh Kendrick (Milton, PA/Warrior Run) finally ended the scoreless drought for the Cougars with a putback at the 9:41 mark, but the damage was done as the hosts found themselves down 30 points, 69-39. Alvernia went to the bench with nine minutes to play and the reserves held the lead above 25 points for much of the remainder of the game.
Alvernia 82, Misericordia 61