Box Score

CHESTER, Pa. – Senior forward Matt Scheaffer scored 19 of his game-high 31 points in the first half and Widener snapped No. 15 Lebanon Valley’s 11-game-winning streak, defeating the Flying Dutchmen 75-56 in Commonwealth Conference men’s basketball action Wednesday evening at the Schwartz Athletic Center.

Widener shot 50.9% for the game, the best by any LVC opponent this season. The Dutchmen had entered the game sporting the top field goal percentage defense (33.8%) in Division III.

The Pioneers (8-7, 2-3 CC) handed the Dutchmen (12-2, 4-1 CC) their first loss since Nov. 20, when LVC dropped an 80-72 overtime decision to Virginia Wesleyan in the championship game of the Virginia Wesleyan Tournament.

Widener jumped to a 37-19 halftime and led by as much as 27 midway through the second half.

The start of the game was delayed nearly two hours due to heavy traffic experienced by Lebanon Valley on the way to Widener.

Sheaffer shot 11-for-15 for the game, including a sizzling 5-for-6 from three-point range.

Sophomore guard Essien Ford added 11 points for the Pioneers while junior center Kris Clarkson had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Senior guard J.D. Byers led the Valley with a team-high 19 points. With his last point, he moved past Steve Horst ’01 and into sixth place on Lebanon Valley’s career scoring list. Byers now has 1,609 career points.

LVC senior forward Steve Buzinski added 17 points, just one shy of his career-high, on 8-of-11 shooting while junior forward Dan Hogan pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

Lebanon Valley led 6-4 with 15:35 remaining in the opening half following a lay-up from senior center Brad Stigelman before the Pioneers started heating up. A 16-4 Widener run, fueled by 11 points from Scheaffer, over the next 6:03 gave the hosts a 10-point (20-10) lead with 8:58 left in the stanza.

Widener’s lead ballooned to 16 (29-13) with 4:46 left in the first half after a 9-0 Pioneer run, capped by a Malcolm Thomas free throw. Senior guard Casey Stitzel canned an NBA-range three-pointer from the right elbow two seconds before the buzzer to give Widener its 18-point halftime lead.

The Pioneers outscored the Dutchmen 17-8 to start the second half to go ahead by 27 (54-27) following a three-pointer by Ford with 11:46 left. Lebanon Valley was unable to cut the deficit to less than 18 the rest of the way.

Lebanon Valley returns to Commonwealth Conference action on Saturday, when it hosts Elizabethtown at 1 p.m. in the first game of a men’s and women’s doubleheader.

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