Dec 30, 2013
READING,PA (www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com) - After last hitting the hardwood on December 11, the SUNY College at Old Westbury men's basketball team fell on the road to the Alvernia Crusaders, 96-76, Monday afternoon, from Jack McCloskey Court. Alvernia improved to 7-3 on the season while Old Westbury's four-game win streak ended and now stand at 6-3 to close out the 2013 calendar year.
In an action packed opening half which featured 10 lead changed, Alvernia took control of the game with a 13-2 run to close out the final 3:19 to take a 47-36 lead into the break. Omari Trebuse scored Old Westbury's first five points to open the game and a layup by Mark Gjonlekaj made it a 7-4 lead early on. Old Westbury's lead reached three again midway through the first-half when Ray Parker finished the fast break with a layup for a 21-18 lead. Alvernia answered with an 11-2 run from 11:15 to 7:56 to go up six, 29-23.
After missing their first two shots of the second-half, Alvernia got back on track by connecting on six of their next seven as part of a 13-0 run to build up a 60-36 lead. Old Westbury trimmed the deficit to 16 on a triple by Trebuse with 12:01 remaining. Alvernia replied with an 11-4 run to take an 81-57 lead before its lead blossomed to as many as 27 (90-63) with 4:55 showing on the second-half clock. Old Westbury responded late with a 10-2 run, which sliced the deficit to 19 with 2:22 left, but was not enough to pull off the comeback.
Trebuse finished the day with a career-high 20 points, shooting 4-of-7 from long distance to go along with seven assists (tied season-high). Mark Gjonlekaj followed with a career-best 16 points (7-12 FG) and eight rebounds, while failing to record a blocked shot for the first time in his nine game career. Ray Parker went for 13 points and Floyd LeRoy chipped in which 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Nat Vaughan scored a career-high seven points off the bench and Andrew Andries made his first career start, contributing four points and five rebounds.
Brian Parker and Kahlil Bennett led all scorers with 28 points each while Parker pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds to lead Alvernia to victory. Chris Davis recorded 12 assists and three steals while Deyo Harrison and Lamont Clark both scored in double-digits with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Old Westbury shot 45 percent from the field (27-60), 35 percent from three-point range (7-20) and 75 percent from the free-throw line (15-20) while Alvernia connected on 60 percent from the floor (36-60), 36.4 percent from beyond the arc (8-22) and 61.5 percent from the charity stripe (16-26). Old Westbury won the boards battle for the third straight game with a 34-30 advantage, while converting 10 offensive rebounds into 15 points. Old Westbury committed 17 turnovers compared to Alvernia's 11.
NO. 21 PURCHASE PANTHERS UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: Old Westbury opens the 2014 calendar year on Saturday (January 4) when they return to the hardwood against the No. 21 Purchase Panthers in a Skyline Conference battle in Purchase, New York. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. from Purchase College Gymnasium.
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