Men's Basketball Can Not Hold On Vs. First-Place Lycoming in 66-62 Loss

(box score)

Widener's nine-point lead with just over seven minutes left was not enough in a tough 66-62 Commonwealth Conference setback to Lycoming at Schwartz Center.

Seniors Jack Brennan (Stratford, NJ) and Perry Wright (Severn, MD) each hit layups for Widener (11-6, 2-4 CC) and were fouled with just under eight minutes left and had the crowd roaring. Both missed their free throws, but it was junior Lamar Jackson (Philadelphia, PA) who hit once from the line for a 60-51 Pride lead with 7:17 remaining.

Lycoming (15-2, 5-1) suddenly came alive, pouring in the next nine points for a 60-60 tie with 3:54 left. Ihsaan Davis scored every point in that run, ending it with a huge 3-pointer from the top of the key.

Jackson made a driving layup with 3:02 left to give Widener a 62-60 cushion, but Michael Rudy came right back for the Warriors with a layup 32 seconds later for the fifth tie of the game.

The game's sixth lead change came with 1:48 left as Lycoming's Mike Bradley nailed a big jumper for a 64-62 cushion. Jackson missed a jumper for the Pride and Rudy had his layup touch every part of the rim before falling out and into Brennan's hands. But Jerald Williams made a great play for Lycoming, knocking the ball off Brennan for a turnover with 1:07 remaining.

Bradley looked to ice it, but he missed a 3-pointer and Widener had one more chance. The Pride came out of a time out and found Brennan, but his jumper fell short and Bradley got the rebound.

Senior Brian Smith (Baltimore, MD) immediately fouled him with 5.3 seconds for the Pride's fifth team foul. On the inbounds pass, Lycoming ran a great outlet and the clock ticked down to 0.6 seconds before junior Rob McPherson (Bowie, MD) hacked him for the sixth team foul.

The seventh team foul came on an intentional one from sophomore Andrew Radomicki (Media, PA) that sent Anthony Martin to the line, where he made two foul shots for the final.

Jackson scored 16 points, McPherson netted eight, Brennan had nine and nine rebounds with Wright getting eight and eight for Widener, which shot just 38 percent (24-of-63) from the field.

Bradley closed with 14 points and 12 rebounds, Kevin Anthony scored 12 points with Davis and Rudy adding 11 apiece for Lycoming, which shot 41 percent (27-of-66) from the floor.

Widener on Wednesday visits Lebanon Valley for an 8:00 pm tip-off, looking to avenge its 58-56 loss in last year's conference semifinals.

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