GLENSIDE, Pa. – The road to the MAC Commonwealth Championship runs through Chester.
 
The Widener University men's basketball team clinched the top seed in the conference tournament in a thrilling win over Arcadia on Tuesday night. With 0.8 seconds to play, Connor Laverty hit the game winner to give the Pride an 84-82 victory.
 
GAME NOTES

• Jared Peters led the Pride in scoring with 15 points and pulled down five boards.
• In addition to the game-winner, Laverty notched 14 points and five rebounds.
• Kenny Lewis led the team in rebounding with nine to go along with 14 points.
• AJ Sawyers and Pat Holden both chipped in with 13 points a piece.
• The last time the Blue and Gold scored in the final 10 seconds to win when was when Ryan McMahon scored a three-pointer as time expired to beat Catholic on January 3rd, 2018.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pride came out hot, going up 9-0 after five minutes, but the Knights quickly evened things back up with a 17-6 scoring run to take a two-point lead by the midpoint of the first. Both teams spent the final minutes exchanging buckets and two made free-throws by Peters locked the score at 35-34 Arcadia entering halftime.
 
Both sides continued to spend much of the second act trading baskets. With three minutes to play, a huge shot from deep by Peters and an ensuing score by Laverty put the Blue and Gold up six. The Knights responded with a three-point play of their own to slice the lead to three with a minute left. Three more free-throws by Arcadia tied things right back up again with 14 ticks left on the clock. On the game's final possession, Laverty knocked down the biggest shot of the season as the buzzer sounded to give the Pride the win.

UP NEXT
The Pride plays its regular season finale as it heads to Frederick, Md. to battle the Hood Blazers on Saturday. Tip-off from BB&T Arena is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.