FREDERICK, Md. - The Hood College men's basketball won for the sixth time in seven tries in against Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth opposition, dispatching Alvernia 74-66. 

Inside the Box Score

• Ryan Hollwedel led the Blazers with 16 points on 7-of-17 shooting. 
• Christopher Smalls filled up the box score with 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. 
• Evan Wang had 11 points and seven boards. 
• Mason Wang grabbed a team- and season-high nine rebounds. 

How it Happened

• Hood led just 53-51 after Malik Green hit a 3-pointer with 11:37 to play. Neither team scored for 90 seconds until a layup by Hollwedel started a 17-7 run for the Blazers over the next seven and a half minutes. He and Smalls combined for 11 points in the run, resulting a 70-58 lead after Smalls found Hollwedel for an open 3-pointer with 2:43 to go. The Golden Wolves hit just two of its next 13 field goals after Green's 3-pointer.
• Hood still led by nine after a Hollwedel bucket made it 72-63 with 56 seconds remaining. Green answered with a 3-pointer for Alvernia to make the score 72-66 at the 42 second mark. The Golden Wolves were forced to foul, and Evan Wang grabbed an offensive board after the Blazers missed the front end of a 1-and-1. He was fouled and hit both free throws with 26 second left to put the game out of reach. 
• In the first half, Alvernia scored 10 straight points to turn a 6-2 Hood advantage into a 12-6 lead for the Golden Wolves five minutes into the action. 
• The Blazers followed that up with a 19-8 run, started by a 3-pointer from Soren Almquist with 14:17 left in the half. A jumper by Hollwedel at 5:13 capped the run, giving the Blazers a 25-20 lead.
• Hood held Alvernia to two field goals in span of nearly 11 minutes until a Green layup at 3:47.  Robert Mullen followed with a 3-point field goal for the Golden Wolves, tying the game at 27-27 just moments later. 
• The rest of the first half featured seven ties or the lead changes with Evan Wang knocking down a 3-pointer with 20 second to go for a 35-34 Hood lead at the break. 
• There were five more ties and lead changes to start the second half when Smalls sank a 3-pointer to give the Blazers a 42-40 edge and the Blazers never trailed again. 

Analysis

• Both teams struggled shooting the ball. Hood shot 39 percent, slightly better than Alvernia's 37 percent. 
• The Golden Wolves attempted 23 free throws in the contest, making 16 (70 percent). The Blazers made the most of their opportunities, hitting 8-of-10 at the line. 
• Hood outrebounded Alvernia 39-32, its best rebounding margin of the season.
• Behind nine points each by Jack Fricka and Trumaine Strickland, the Blazers' bench outscored its counterparts 25-7. 

For the Opponent

• Green scored a game-high 28 points on 9-of-18 shooting, including 5-for-10 from 3-point range. 
• Avery Walker added 11 points and Mickeel Allen led the Golden Wolves with eight rebounds. 

Notes

• Hood's 6-1 start in conference play is its best since joining the MAC Commonwealth for the 2012-13 season and its best overall since beginning its 2009-10 Capital Athletic Conference schedule 7-1. 
• The Blazers improved to 9-5 overall. 
• Alvernia is 3-4 in the league and 8-5 on the year. 

Up Next
Hood hosts Messiah on Wednesday, January 19 at 8 p.m.