Widener 80, Lebanon Valley 67
 
LVC Starters
Baker, Tucker, Catanzaro, Covey, Deihm
 
Widener Starters
Lewis, Boyd, Holden, Peters, Laverty
 
How It Happened
ANNVILLE, Pa. – Widener University closed out the first half on a 19-2 run and eventually took down Lebanon Valley by an 80-67 score on Wednesday evening in MAC Commonwealth Men's Hoops action. The Flying Dutchmen dropped to 8-10, 3-6 MACC, while the Pride improved to 16-3, 9-1 MACC.
 
With 6:21 remaining in the opening half, AJ Catanzaro stole the ball away from Widener and hit a layup to put LVC up 22-19. The Pride quickly answered with a Connor Laverty layup, followed by Elijah Boyd's triple that put the visitors on top 24-22 with 4:34 to go. Those five points were the beginning of the Pride's game-changing run, as Jared Peters knocked down two from the charity stripe, and after back-to-back makes by Zach Tucker from the free throw line, Boyd dropped another 3-pointer, followed by four makes for Widener at the line, and Steven Matlack finished off the half with a 3-pointer as time expired, giving the visitors a 38-24 advantage at the halftime break.
 
Early in the second, the Pride went ahead by as many as 15, but the pesky Dutchmen didn't go away. Down by 11 at 46-35 with 14:58 left, Trevor Covey hit a layup and was fouled in the process. After his free throw, LVC found itself down just 10, however Widener's Laverty answered with a triple to put the visitors back on top by 13 at 49-36 with 14:19 to go.
 
LVC continued to hang in and stay within striking distance, as Mason Green hit two consecutive shots from the line with 9:23 to go, bringing the deficit to just eight at 56-48. Luis Garcia followed with two more from the charity stripe, cutting the Pride's lead to six at 8:46, however the Dutchmen were unable to get any closer. One of the best free throw shooting teams in the conference flex their muscles down the stretch and held off LVC in the 80-67 win.
 
Things were tight early on as Tucker hit a trey with 15:14 to go that put the Dutchmen on top at 7-5. A layup by Justin Baker and a free throw pushed the home team's advantage to five at 10-5, but a mini 6-0 run by Widener gave the visitors an 11-10 lead with 12:09 to go in the first. From there, back-and-forth action continued until the Pride's crucial run.
 
Inside the Numbers
 - Joe Wright paced LVC's offense with a career-high 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting. The freshman added six rebounds and a pair of blocks off the bench.
 - Zach Tucker finished with 11 points and four boards.
 - Off the bench, Collin Jones provided 10 points.
 - Mason Green chipped in eight points off the bench.
 - AJ Catanzaro netted five points and brought down five rebounds while adding three assists.
 - Jared Peters led Widener with 16 points, while Kenny Lewis provided 15 points and 11 boards.
 - The Pride shot 40% from the floor, while LVC shot 36.2%.
 - Widener shot 86.4% from the charity stripe and LVC was at 76%.
 - The teams were even in points off turnovers at 17 apiece.
 - The Dutchmen held the edge in bench points at 36-24.
 - The Pride held the slight lead in points in the paint at 32-26.
 
Who's Next?
Conference action continues for LVC this Saturday, Feb. 1, when the Dutchmen travel to Reading to battle Alvernia at 3 p.m.
 
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