Jackson's Layup Lifts Men's Basketball to Stunning Victory at Lycoming and Berth in Conference Tournament

(box score)

Junior Lamar Jackson (Philadelphia, PA) hit a layup with one second remaining to give Widener its only lead and a stirring 70-69 Commonwealth Conference victory at Lycoming in Williamsport, PA.

Lycoming, which was ahead by as many as 14 in the opening half, held a 61-51 lead with 8:00 left after Mike Bradley's layup. But Widener began chipping away by scoring the next five points, capped on a 3-pointer from senior Perry Wright (Severn, MD) with 7:00 remaining for a 61-56 deficit.

Neither squad could really gain the momentum until senior Jack Brennan (Stratford, NJ) hit a jumper with 2:11 left as Widener closed to a 67-65 deficit. After Kevin Anthony missed a jumper for the Warriors, Pride senior Brian Smith (Baltimore, MD) could not hit a 3-pointer for the lead and got his own rebound.

Widener look to reset for either the tie or the lead, but Smith was called for traveling with 46 seconds left. Following a pair of fouls to put Lycoming in the bonus, Anthony Martin hit two free throws with 30 seconds remaining for a 69-65 margin.

Hope seemed lost when Jackson had his layup attempt blocked by Anthony, who grabbed the rebound. But the Pride had new life when Anthony missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 21 seconds left and Smith canned a 3-pointer from the right wing with 13 seconds to play for a 69-68 contest.

Widener (17-6, 8-4 CC) again was forced to foul and Jerald Williams was sent to the line with 11 seconds remaining. He also gave the visitors hope as his miss on the 1-and-1 set up the dramatics.

Smith misfired on a 3-pointer and Lycoming's Patrick Dougher looked to get the rebound. However, it was Jackson who corralled it and laid it home for an improbable lead.

Lycoming (17-6, 7-5) had one final chance, but Ihsaan's Davis desperation shot at the buzzer was off to give Widener its second six-game winning streak of the season.

Wright finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season, Jackson scored 13 points, Brennan had 11 and 10 rebounds with junior Rob McPherson (Bowie, MD) grabbing 11 rebounds for the Pride. Widener also won the game at the line, hitting 18-for-24 with Lycoming going only 8-for-14.

The Pride also held a 53-40 rebounding edge and forced the Warriors to shoot only 3-of-14 from 3-point range.

Martin scored 22 points, Anthony netted 16, Dougher posted 11 and Williams grabbed 12 rebounds for the Warriors, who entered the contest third in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic regional rankings and shot 42 percent (29-of-69) from the floor.

Widener sits second in the league, one game in front of both Alvernia and Lycoming (7-5) and has clinched a berth in the conference tournament. The Pride can not be eliminated by a potential four-way tiebreaker between themselves, Lycoming, Alvernia and Albright. They also can not be bounced through three-way tiebreakers that include themselves, Albright and Alvernia as well as themselves, Albright and Lycoming.

Widener on Tuesday hosts Lebanon Valley, starting at 8:00 pm.

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