ANNVILLE, Pa. -
Jordan Stewart sank the go-ahead free throws with 1:56 remaining in the game as part of his 18-point effort to lead Lebanon Valley to its first Commonwealth Conference championship game since 2004-05 with a 58-56 win over Widener Wednesday night.
Second-seeded Lebanon Valley will visit top seed Alvernia, a 51-49 winner over Messiah in the other semifinal, on Saturday at 3 p.m. for the title. LVC beat the Crusaders in overtime on Saturday in the regular-season finale; it will be the first time the two have met for the championship. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The Dutchmen (20-6) held on for the dramatic win that saw neither team score after Stewart's foul shots; the Pride (13-13) had a wide-open three look for Perry Wright to win it, but his effort fell short just before the buzzer.
Newly-minted CC Player of the Year
Anthony Trautman scored 18, but was limited to just six in the second half by Widener freshman Andrew Radomicki. However, that opened the door for Stewart, who scored 10 of his 18 after the half while shooting 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
Danny Brooks scored 13 with seven boards in a low-post battle with Jack Brennan, who led Widener with 12 points.
LVC had to overcome a hot-shooting Pride performance in the first half, with Widener making shots at a 55.2% clip, but they held them to 38.1% in the second half to erase a 36-30 halftime deficit. The Dutchmen had an off night shooting themselves at 39.3%, but they went 14-for-18 from the line while Widener was just 2-of-6.
Widener had taken the lead on Radomicki's jumper with 4:11 remaining, but Stewart drilled a three-pointer in response before to Jarrell Nelson's tip-in knotted the game at 54-54.
Stewart fed
Grant Becker down low for a short-range jumper to put LVC up before Wright hit a leaner with 2:18 to go to tie the game, and that would be the final field goal for either side. A Brennan foul sent Stewart to the line with 1:56 to go, and he sank both to go up 58-56.
Both teams traded misses, and Widener ended up with the ball with 17 seconds to work with. LVC, with two fouls to give, used both, and after Widener found Wright on the left wing off the inbounds, he was too short with his three-point bid and the ball fell to Becker to secure the win.
