CHESTER, Pa. (Jan. 2, 2016) – Sophomore Sardayah Sambo (Middletown, Del.) nearly recorded a triple-double and junior Kendall Green (Mount Laurel, N.J.) poured in a career-best 21 points to help propel the Widener University men's basketball team to an 81-74 triumph over Lycoming in Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth action on Saturday afternoon at the Schwartz Center.
 
After the Pride built up a 35-28 advantage at the recess, the teams played out a thriller over the final 20 minutes with eight lead changes and three ties in the second half alone. Trailing by double figures, Lycoming captured the momentum and jumped ahead by getting a layup from David Johnson to make it 48-47 in the opening minutes. The Warriors maintained control and concluded a 27-9 run when Nykolas King sank a free throw to give the guests an eight-point advantage at 55-47 with under 14 minutes left.
 
Widener, however, battled back and got life when Sambo drove in for a monster dunk following a missed free throw by the Warriors at the other end. Junior John Fender (Wallingford, Pa.) then drained two shots in a row from downtown just past the midway point before Green took over by notching a 3-point play in old fashion. The captain sank a layup and canned the ensuing free throw to put the Pride up by a 62-60 score at the 7:01 mark.
 
The play by Green set up a photo finish, as the teams would play a game of tug-of-war with the lead changing six times over a span of just 3:16. Fender put the Pride ahead for good by sinking a 3-pointer to make it 71-69 with 3:01 left before two Pride steals resulted in quick layups in transition. This included a key steal by Ryan McMahon (Mount Laurel, N.J.), which he finished on the other end to make it 77-69 with 1:51 remaining. Sambo then made charity shots down the stretch to produce the final outcome.
 
In a tight first half, Green put the hosts in control when he drove in for a layup and made a free throw to give Widener a slight advantage slightly before the midway point of the frame. After Willie Keep made it a one-point contest at 20-19 with a layup at the 7:51 mark, Widener started to break loose and built up a seven-point cushion on three occasions before eventually taking a lead by that margin into the break.
 
Sambo lit up the stat sheet for Widener by ending the game with 16 points, eight rebounds, a career-high eight assists and five blocks. Green registered a career-best 21 points to go along with seven boards, three helpers and two blocks. Fender scored 15 points off the bench for the Pride, who set season-best marks as a squad by shooting 54.9 percent from the floor and altering 11 shots in the contest.
 
Johnson netted 17 points and dished out six assists to lead the way for Lycoming (9-3, MAC Commonwealth 2-2), which had its four-game winning streak snapped with the loss. T.J. Duckett contributed 15 points, while Wallace added eight points and 11 boards.
 
Widener (5-6, MAC Commonwealth 1-2) returns to action when it visits Albright on Wednesday, Jan. 6 at 8:00 p.m.