Box Score
ANNVILLE, Pa. – Lebanon Valley nearly erased a nine-point, second-half deficit, but Widener University hung on down the stretch to defeat the Flying Dutchmen 67-62 in Commonwealth Conference men’s basketball action Wednesday evening at the LVC Gymnasium.
With the win, Widener (16-3, 6-3 CC), which received 20 points from junior guard Essien Ford, moved into a three-way tie with Albright College and Messiah College for first place in the Commonwealth Conference. Ford shared game-high scoring honors with LVC junior guard Jimmy Curran, who was 7-for-8 at the foul line.
After trailing by eight (58-50) with 4:48 left, Lebanon Valley (9-11, 3-6 CC) used an 11-5 surge to make it a two-point game (63-61) after Curran knocked down a fall-away jumper from the left wing with 1:09 to go. Junior forward Malcolm Thomas converted a driving lay-up with 35 seconds left to push Widener’s lead to four before LVC was whistled for an offensive foul with 27 ticks showing.
One second later, Clarkson missed the front end of a one-and-one, and senior forward Dan Hogan was fouled pulling down the rebound. With LVC in the double bonus, Hogan made the second of two free throws, making it a one-possession game again at 65-62. But then on the Pioneers’ inbounds pass, Clarkson broke free into an empty Widener frontcourt, gathered in a baseball pass, and threw down an uncontested dunk to set the final score with 21 seconds left.
Clarkson then stole LVC’s inbounds pass, but missed his ensuing lay-up. Hogan grabbed another rebound, but after a timeout, Lebanon Valley turned the ball over with four seconds left.
Thomas scored all of his 16 points in the second half for the Pioneers. Clarkson was held to 10 points under his scoring average, as the conference’s leading scorer and rebounder posted 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Hogan finished with nine points and eight boards for the Dutchmen while junior forward Dave Kasyan notched eight points, six rebounds, and four assists. Freshman guard Kyle Enoch added nine points for LVC.
Both teams suffered from poor shooting in the opening half. Widener shot 39.3% in the opening 20 minutes while Lebanon Valley hit on just 33.3% of its shots as the Pioneers forged a 29-26 lead at the intermission. However, both sides found their offensive touch in the second stanza, with the Pioneers shooting 57.1% and LVC connecting on 57.1% of its attempts.
The first half was largely a back-and-forth affair, with six ties and two lead changes over the opening 15:15. After a three-pointer from Enoch with 7:31 left in the period gave Lebanon Valley its largest lead (19-14) of the game, a pair of Curran free throws with 4:45 left tied the game (21-21) for the sixth time. Ford then put the Pioneers ahead to stay when he dropped in a lay-up 13 seconds after Curran’s foul shots. Widener led by five before another set of Curran free throws with 1:21 to go made it a three-point game at the half.
Lebanon Valley came back to tie the game with 14:07 remaining following a lay-up from sophomore forward Peter Ruth, but that’s when the Pioneers embarked on a 9-1 run to assume a 49-41 lead with 10:42 on the clock. Widener’s lead reached nine (54-45) with 8:42 left after a free throw from senior forward Brooke Tidswell, and a Clarkson tip-in gave the Pioneers their 58-50 lead.
The Dutchmen return to action on Saturday, when they host Elizabethtown College at 3 p.m. on Hot Dog Frank Day in a Commonwealth Conference game.
[Photo - Senior forward Dan Hogan]
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