READING, Pa. – DeJuan Smith scored a game-high 21 points, but Korey Hayman connected on a three-pointer with 32.4 seconds remaining in regulation and Stevenson held on to defeat Albright 76-73 on Senior Day on Saturday in the Bollman Center.
It was a damaging loss for the Lions in their pursuit of a berth in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament. Albright dropped to 7-8 in the conference with the defeat and will meet league-leading Alvernia on Tuesday in its regular season finale. The Lions need a victory over the Crusaders to likely have hopes of making the postseason tournament.
Albright appeared well on its way to posting its fifth-consecutive victory on Saturday before a late Stevenson rally overtook the Lions.
Albright, which dropped to 10-14 overall, held a comfortable 10-point lead when Brandon Lindsay drained a three-pointer with 6:44 remaining in the second half.
Hayman and Sean Mayberry answered with baskets for the Mustangs, which closed the lead to 69-63 with 5:46 left to play.
Calvert Gantz scored off an assist from Smith that upped the Lions lead to 71-63 at the 5:27 mark of the second half.
Ryan Hill then scored five consecutive points to bring the Mustangs to within 71-68 with 2:49 remaining in regulation.
Hayman knotted the score for the first time in the game with a three-pointer with 2:04 left in the second period.
Smith responded with a pair of free throws with 1:00 to play, which regained the lead for the Lions at 73-71.
Hayman then drilled a three-pointer giving the Mustangs their first lead of the game at 74-73 with 32.4 seconds to play.
Albright had two chances to take the lead on its next possession, but came up empty both times.
Hill was fouled while grabbing the rebound and he made two free throws to up the Mustangs lead to 76-73 with 12.5 seconds left in the game.
Albright fired up two three-pointers, but neither found the mark and the Mustangs escaped with the win.
Stevenson, which improved to 9-14 overall and 7-7 in conference play, was led by Mayberry who scored 17 points before leaving the game with an injury. Hill and Hayman each had 15 points and Erik Fisher finished with 14 points for the Mustangs.
Omari Ringgold added 18 points for Albright, while Lindsay scored 13 points off the bench and Evan Ward chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds.
The Lions held a lead for 37:37 of the game largely due to their three-point shooting as they finished the game 9-of-17 from beyond the arc.
Saturday marked the final regular season home game for Albright seniors Evan Ward, Vince Lombardi, Casey Ayers and Johnathan Amoroso.
Albright will return to action on Tuesday (Feb. 16) when it visits Alvernia for an 8 p.m. MAC Commonwealth game to close out the regular season.