BOX SCORE

Grantham, Pa. (Feb. 5, 2011) - Junior center Cory Boone (Howard, Pa./Bald Eagle Area) scored a game-high 20 points and tied the school's single season record for blocked shots while helping Alvernia University (14-4, 9-1) preserve a 58-54 win over Messiah College (10-10, 5-5) Saturday evening in Commonwealth Conference men's basketball action at a packed Brubaker Auditorium.

Boone scored on a layup with just under two minutes to play to push Alvernia's late lead to six points, then blocked a shot at the defensive end -- his 70th of the season tying him with recently inducted Alvernia Hall of Famer Lonnie Walker (1995-98) -- and the Crusaders hit seven free throws in the final minute to finish off the Falcons.

The Crusaders came out with an extremely strong effort defensively in the first half limiting the Falcons to just 19 points.  The lead was 21-11 with six and a half left in the first following a string of four straight from Seth Cornell (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor).  Messiah cut that down to four points on a 3 from Josh Hartman on its final possession of the half, but fouled freshman Chris Davis (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) on a 3 at the first half buzzer and Davis hit 2-of-3 from the line for the 25-19 halftime lead.

Both teams struggled to find their shots from long range in the first half with Alvernia hitting just 1-of-8 from the arc and Messiah managing just one better on the same attempts.  Messiah reserve Brad Bolen was immune to the bug, he hit all four 3s he attempted including one at the game's final horn.

After a rash of turnovers and a short exchange of hoops to start the second half, Messiah rattled off six straight points to tie the score at 29-all with 13:15 left to play.  Alvernia responded with its own 6-0 run while the hosts misfired on a pair of shots from downtown.  Cornell opened with a layup and Tad Gillis (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) scored the final four.

The pattern remained the same over the next eight minutes.  Messiah would close the gap and Alvernia would score enough to push it back to half a dozen.  Brian Nerney (Middletown, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) put Alvernia up seven with the first of Alvernia's seven late free throws, and the Crusaders countered a pair of 3s from Bolen for the 4-point spread.

The win has Alvernia alone in first place two games clear of second place Elizabethtown, an overtime winner at third-place Albright Saturday afternoon.  Albright and Lebanon Valley are locked in third place with Messiah a game behind and just out of a playoff spot.  All eight conference teams have four league games remaining on their schedules.

Boone has at least one block in every game this season including a school record nine against Rowan on November 23.

Alvernia tangles with Widener University next Wednesday in Chester.

Alvernia 58, Messiah 54