Box Score
ANNVILLE, Pa. – Senior guard Essien Ford scored a game-high 24 points and was one of three Widener starters to reach double figures in scoring as the Pride defeated Lebanon Valley 71-58 in Commonwealth Conference men’s basketball action Wednesday evening at the LVC Gymnasium.
Senior forward Malcolm Thomas added 17 points and sophomore guard Nyere Miller added 11 for Widener (10-5, 5-0 CC), which remained undefeated in the Commonwealth.
Senior guard Hunter Bretschneider led Lebanon Valley (10-6, 2-3 CC) with a season-high 20 points on 5-of-10 3-point shooting while senior guard Jimmy Curran shot 4-for-5 from beyond the arc and finished with 18 points for the Flying Dutchmen.
Widener broke the game open with a 12-0 run over an 8:58 stretch midway through the second half. A 3-pointer from Curran made it 42-40 with 16:04 left, but that would turn out to be the Valley’s last points before a tip-in from sophomore forward Eric Humphrey made it a 52-44 game with 7:06 remaining.
The Pride milked the shot clock on each possession down the stretch, and extended its advantage to as much as 12 on two occasions. The Dutchmen narrowed the gap into single digits with 1:59 left when a Bretschneider trey made it 60-52, but Widener put the game away at the foul line, making 10 of 11 free throws inside the final two minutes.
Widener shot 84.6% (22-for-26) at the line for the game to offset a 16.7% (3-for-18) mark from 3-point range.
The Pride raced to an 18-4 lead over the opening 13:01, with Thomas scoring eight points along the way. It was still a 14-point game (20-6) after a Miller lay-up with 11:44 left in the opening half before the Valley climbed back into it with a 15-3 run. Five different Dutchmen scored during the spurt, and a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Dan Hodge pulled LVC to within 23-21 with 5:42 left in half.
Lebanon Valley came all the way back to tie it on a lay-up from senior forward Brian Wolensky (25-25) and later on a James Shinn bucket (27-27), but Widener answered with a 7-0 surge, which freshman forward Brian O’Connor kick-started off the bench with a 3-pointer and a fast-break lay-up. Shinn ended the half with a pair of free throws three seconds before the buzzer to make it a 34-29 game at the break.
The Dutchmen were clicking offensively at the start of the second half, outscoring Widener 8-2 to start the stanza. Curran and Bretschneider each connected on a 3-ball, then Curran gave LVC its first lead of the night (37-36) on a jumper with 17:58 on the clock. Bretshneider followed up with a fast-break lay-up, setting up Curran’s trey that proceeded Widener’s decisive run.
Ford and Thomas collected eight rebounds apiece for Widener while freshman guard Bobby Edmunds handed out six assists for the Pride.
Sophomore guard Kyle Enoch distributed a career-high nine assists for the Dutchmen while junior center Luke Foster tied a career-high with eight rebounds and blocked three shots.
Lebanon Valley returns to Commonwealth Conference action on Saturday, when it visits Susquehanna University starting at 3 p.m.
[Photo - Junior Luke Foster, who had eight rebounds and three blocks against Widener on Wednesday]
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