Men's Basketball Handed 71-66 Loss by Alvernia

(box score)

Widener fought hard against the defending Commonwealth Conference champions, but just came up short in a 71-66 loss to Alvernia in both teams league opener at Schwartz Center.

Sophomore Bob Makor (Philadelphia, PA) made a layup to bring Widener within 61-59 with 5:04 left and give the home team some momentum. But Stefan Thompson gave it right back to Alvernia (2-2, 1-0 CC), drilling a key 3-pointer with 2:34 left for a 64-59 contest.

Brian Nerney made a layup with 1:46 remaining and canned 1-of-2 from the line with 1:03 left to give the Crusaders a 67-59 lead. Junior Lamar Jackson (Philadelphia, PA) made two free throws for Widener (4-2, 0-1) to make it 67-61 with 57 seconds to play, but Nerney restored the eight-point margin on a layup with 42 seconds left.

Widener senior Jack Brennan (Stratford, NJ) hit a layup with 36 seconds remaining to make it 69-63 and more hope was gained after Alvernia's Terrance Bridgers missed two free throws. The Pride made the visitors pay when senior Perry Wright (Severn, MD) rattled home a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 16 seconds to play for a three-point game.

Thompson was fouled with 14 seconds left and went to the line for two shots. After missing the first and with the gym in an uproar, he made the second for a 70-66 contest to all but end it.

Bridgers, who started 9-of-10 from the floor, finished with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting off the bench over 31 minutes. Chris Davis scored 14 points and Brian Parker added 10 and seven rebounds, going 5-of-8 from the field.

The Crusaders shot 42 percent (25-of-59) from the floor and hit six 3-pointers.

Brennan finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, Wright scored 12 points and senior Brian Smith (Baltimore, MD) added 10 for Widener, which shot 48 percent (14-of-29) in the second half and 42 percent (25-of-59) overall.

Widener is home Saturday against Albright, beginning at 3:00 pm.

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