FREDERICK, Md. - The Hood College men's basketball team scored 20 straight points early in the second half to defeat Albright 85-72 in Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth play for the Blazers' sixth win in a row. 

Inside the Box Score

• Christopher Smalls led Hood with 19 points, matching his career-high, on 6-of-11 shooting, sinking 3-for-5 from 3-point range. 
• Trumaine Strickland came off the bench for 15 points in only 17 minutes. He went 5-for-8 from the field. 
• Mason Wang and Bryce Butler scored 13 points each. Wang added eight rebounds and seven assists in the game. 
• Evan Wang matched his brother's eight rebounds. 

How it Happened

• Hood trailed by four at halftime, 38-34, and a quick bucket by Troy Smoot made it a six-point deficit with 19:44 on the clock. The Blazers made six straight field goals, including four 3-pointers, and went 4-for-4 at the free throw line over the next 3:35 to take control. 
• Smalls, who scored seven points in the run, started it with two free throws and a pair of foul shots by Mason Wang accounted for the final points of the run as Hood took a 54-40 lead with 15:54 remaining. 
• Hood still led by 14 after a layup by Smalls two-and-a-half minutes later but an ensuing 11-3 run pulled Albright within 62-56 on a 3-pointer from Eric Chamberlain with 11:10 to go. 
• The Blazers scored the game's next six points, however, and the Lions never got within eight the rest of the way. 
• In the first half, Hood trailed 10-6 before 3-point field goals by Strickland, Smalls and Soren Almquist fueled an 11-0 run that gave the Blazers a 17-10 advantage at the 14-minute mark. 
• Hood went cold after that, hitting just three field goals over the next nine minutes as Albright came back to take a 31-24 lead on a Sidney Brown layup with 4:25 on the left in the half. 

Analysis

• The Blazers held the rebounding edge 38-36. 
• Hood turned the ball over only 10 times and outscored the Lions 25-9 in points off turnovers. 

For the Opponent

• Brown finished with 14 points and eight boards for Albright. 
• Robert Mangrum and Zyon Grant scored 12 apiece off the bench and Mangrum led the team with nine rebounds. 
• Smoot had 10 points and five assists. 

Notes

• Hood's average margin of victory in its six-game win streak is 16 points. 
• The 10-1 start in conference play is the best in program history. 
• The Blazers improved to 13-5. 
• Albright saw its records evened at 9-9 and 5-5 in the MAC Commonwealth. 
• With Eastern idle, the Blazers moved a half-game ahead of the Eagles into first place in the conference standings. 
• It was the 12th straight game in which Hood hit 11 or more 3-point field goals. 

Up Next
Hood is off until traveling to Lebanon Valley on Saturday, February 5.