CHESTER, Pa. – Jared Peters scored a game-high 17 points and Connor Laverty recorded his second career double-double as the Widener University men's basketball team ground out a 57-54 MAC Commonwealth victory against Lycoming on Saturday. The win moves the Pride to 10-0 for the season.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Peters was 5-for-9 from the field and 6-of-6 at the line to help account for his point total.
• Laverty grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds to go with 11 points
• Elijah Boyd chipped in with 13 points, six rebounds, and two blocks.
• AJ Sawyers had nine points on the afternoon.
• Steven Matlack matched his season-best with three rejections. As a team, Widener swatted six Lycoming shots.
• The Pride held a Warriors team that was connecting on 34.6 percent of its three-point attempts coming into the game to just 6-for-20 from distance.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pride got the quick start in the contest, going up 20-9 on a jumper by Sawyers at the 11:28 mark of the first half, prompting a Lycoming timeout. Widener maintained a nine-point lead with 5:21 to go in the opening frame on a Kenny Lewis layup, but the Warriors scored 10 of the final 16 points in the stanza, closing the gap to 30-25 at the break
 
WU built the lead back to nine thanks to a trey from Boyd five minutes into the second period. After trading baskets, a jumper by Sawyers extended the edge to 44-33 with 12:29 remaining. LC slowly chipped away at the advantage, culminating with a pair of threes, the last coming with 11 seconds left, bringing the Blue and Gold lead to 55-54. On the subsequent inbound, Peters grabbed the rock and knocked down both shots, making it 57-54. Lycoming pushed the ball up the court, but a shuffle of the feet while setting up the game-tying play helped preserve the win for the Pride.
 
UP NEXT
Widener plays the first of back-to-back games against Division I opponents when it travels to Easton, Pa. on Thursday, December 19, taking on the Lafayette Leopards. Tipoff from the Kirby Center is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.