EASTON, Pa. – Three players each finished with nine points as the Widener University men's basketball team took on its first Division I opponent in four years, traveling to face the Lafayette Leopards. After a valiant effort, the Pride came up on the downside of a 96-56 final.
"I feel like this was a really good experience for our team, stepping up to play a Division I squad," said head coach
Chris Carideo. "This will help us a lot going forward, both from playing against this level of talent, but also learning from what we need do to play against a quality team."
GAME NOTES
- Jared Peters, Connor Laverty, and Steven Matlack each dropped nine points for the Pride. Matlack added a team-high tying five rebounds.
- Kenny Lewis also pulled in five boards in the contest.
- Kolbey Woodard chipped in with eight points and five rebounds.
- Eight different players found the scoring column for the Blue and Gold.
- The game was the first countable contest against a Division I team for the Pride since December 22, 2015 when it played the Hartford Hawks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Leopards started off hot from distance, connecting on four of their first five shots from three-point range, opening a 14-4 lead in the opening five minutes. Laverty responded with back-to-back buckets of his own, igniting a 9-0 run for the Pride, slicing the score to 14-13 and forcing a Lafayette timeout. Widener kept things close as a jumper from Woodard pulled the Blue and Gold to 23-20 at the 8:39 mark. A 23-4 run from the home team put Lafayette up 46-24 with under two minutes remaining in the half.
Coming out of the break, the two teams played a competitive half with the Pride holding its own for the opening 10 minutes thanks to some acrobatic baskets from Woodard. As the frame wore on, the Leopards were able to pull away, creating the final score.
UP NEXT
Widener plays its second consecutive Division I opponent, taking on Penn on Saturday, December 21. Tipoff from The Palestra is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
