CHESTER, Pa. – The Widener University men' basketball team pulled away late as the Pride downed Kean 72-62 to win the Widener Tip-Off Tournament for Autism Awareness, presented by Dilworth-Paxon.
 
Connor Laverty was named the tournament MVP while Pat Holden was selected to the All-Tournament Team.
 
Jared Peters got things going early for the Pride, netting the first seven points for the team. Kean responded and took an 18-12 lead eight minutes in, but an 8-0 run for WU pushed the Blue and Gold back on top. A spurt by the Cougars gave Kean a 27-20 edge with just more than four minutes left before Widener scored 11 of the final 13 points of the half.
 
Opening the second, the teams traded the lead back and forth with neither team holding more than a five point advantage. A three-pointer by the Cougars pushed the visitors up 58-55 with 6:16 to go. The Pride had the final say, using a 16-0 run spanning nearly the entirety of the remainder of the contest to claim the win.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Elijah Boyd led Widener in scoring with 16 points to go along with four assists and three steals.
• Connor Laverty had 12 points and eight boards.
• Pat Holden hit a quartet of threes, on his way to 13 points.
• Jared Peters had the hot hand early, ending the day with 15 points.
• Kolbey Woodard had a strong day with eight points and a team-leading nine rebounds.
• Widener held a slight 39-38 edge in rebounding, including 11-8 on the offensive glass.

 
UP NEXT
The Pride returns to action on Wednesday, November 20 when it hosts Catholic. Tipoff from the Schwartz Center is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.