(READING, Pa.) – The Wilson men's basketball team showed offensive fight and plenty of contributions throughout the lineup, but an early deficit proved difficult to overcome as the Phoenix fell to Alvernia on Tuesday. The Blue and White finished with 76 points, led by a strong performance from Jalen Pierce (Sr., Richmond, Va. / Collegiate / Millersville) who poured hit the 20-point plateau for the second time in as many games. Winston Raford (Sr., Woodbridge, Va. / Forest Park) joined him in double figures.

Unfortunately for the Phoenix, the Golden Wolves were able to counter with Max Shosa who was on fire from range en route to a 33-point evening.

The Basics
Score: Wilson 76, Alvernia 97
Venue: Jack McCloskey Court
Records: Wilson 0-2, 0-0 UE; Alvernia 1-0 MAC Commonwealth

How It Happened

• Wilson did well to stay with the Wolves as pair of Mohamed Sylla (Jr., Philadelphia, Pa. / Sankofa Freedom / Cecil) free throws along with layups from both Pierce and Raford kept the Phoenix even in the early moments. Alvernia then took control with a 23-3 run over the next six minutes to take a commanding lead. The Phoenix kept fighting and were able chop the deficit back down to 10 with buckets from Raford, Pierce, Ethan Salvatierra (So., Woodbridge, Va. / Forest Park), and Anthony Washington (Jr., North Wales, Pa. / Christopher Dock / Bucks CC). Pierce later made the score 43-32 in favor of Alvernia with a layup with 1:32 to go before the Wolves closed the half on an 8-0 run.
• A hot start in the second half allowed Wilson to eventually get back within single digits. Hasan Laws (FY, Philadelphia / Dobbins) hit a triple to make it 55-44 and was followed by another from Pierce who was fouled on the play to make it a seven-point game after the and-one free throw. However Alvernia immediately answered with a 7-0 run and was able to stay up by double-digits the rest of the way.

Inside The Numbers

• Pierce dropped in 20 points to lead the Phoenix after he went 7-for-16 from the field overall. He added three rebounds, three assists, and two steals to his stat line.
• Raford finished with a strong 16 points after he went 6-for-12 on the night.
• Washington was hot with nine points after going 4-for-5.
• The night belonged to Alvernia's Max Shosa who finished with 33 points. He was 13-for-16 overall and 6-for-9 behind the arc. Three other Wolves scored in double-figures with the team shooting 50.7% overall on the evening.
• Alvernia controlled the boards by a 43-33 margin.

Up Next
The Phoenix are back on the road Saturday with a showdown at Marywood. Tip-off with the Paces is set for 2 p.m.