Men's Basketball Pulls Away Late For Huge 99-90 Victory at Alvernia

(box score)

Senior Brian Smith (Baltimore, MD) hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with just under four minutes left and Widener came up with some great defense down the stretch for a big 99-90 Commonwealth Conference win at Alvernia in Reading, PA.

Both teams brought their shooting touch from long range as Widener hit 11 three-pointers to fall two shy of its season best and Alvernia canned 13. The Pride hit 49 percent (35-of-71) overall from the floor and the Crusaders made 46 percent (35-of-76).

Widener (13-6, 4-4 CC) looked in control after scoring seven straight points to open a 77-70 lead with 7:14 remaining. Smith and sophomore Andrew Radomicki (Media, PA) each connected from beyond the arc at the end of the spurt.

Alvernia (12-6, 4-4) would not go away, using a 12-4 run to enthrall the home crowd and take an 82-81 lead with 4:13 to go. Josh Vargas and Stefan Thompson each hit a pair of 3-pointers in run with Vargas' second shot ending it.

But Widener would not be denied in getting a season split with Alvernia. Smith got a great look with 3:47 left and canned a 3-pointer to give the Pride the lead for good at 84-82.

Widener senior Perry Wright (Severn, MD) hit a layup with 3:27 left for an 86-82 lead before Cory Boone's layup with 2:29 remaining brought Alvernia within two. It would be the Crusaders' only basket in just over a four-minute stretch late in the contest.

Wright got another layup with 2:21 to go for an 88-84 contest and came up with a big steal on the next possession. After Terrance Bridgers missed the front end of a 1-and-1 for Alvernia, Vargas exited with his fifth foul and his absence on offense would be huge.

Wright hit two more from the line and Smith connected on 3-of-4 from the stripe, the last two with one minute left for a 93-84 contest to secure Widener's third victory in its last four outings.

Wright ended with 21 points and 10 rebounds, going 6-of-12 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the line for his second double-double of the season. Junior Rob McPherson (Bowie, MD) had 18 points and nine rebounds, Smith scored 18 points, senior Jack Brennan (Stratford, NJ) posted 14 points and eight rebounds with Radomicki adding 10 points.

Vargas scored 27 points, Bridgers netted 20, with Thompson and Chris Davis adding 11 apiece for the Crusaders.

Widener shot a blistering 56 percent (19-of-34) from the floor in the second half that included 15-of-25 from two-point range. Despite its failures down the stretch, Alvernia hit 49 percent (21-of-43) from the field after intermission.

The victory was the 100th for Chris Carideo as Widener head coach and he sports a 100-56 record in six seasons. He trails his college coach C. Alan Rowe, who had 536 wins from 1965-98, and David Duda, who recorded 143 victories from 1998-2006.

Widener is home Wednesday against Elizabethtown at 8:00 pm. The women's team on Wednesday will take part in the initiative to “Play 4Kay” during its 6:00 pm contest as donations will be accepted for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund to help find a cure for cancer.

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