CHESTER, Pa. – Widener men's basketball opens MAC Commonwealth Semifinal game hot with eight points in a 73-62 victory over Hood.
 
With the win, the Pride will advance to the MAC Commonwealth Championship game and better their season record 18-8.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Dominic Dunn hits 17 points to lead the Pride.
• Kenny Lewis led with 15 rebounds.
• From the bench, Xavier Earnest drains seven.

HOW IT HAPPENED IN THE SCHWARTZ CENTER
 
Pat Holden opened the game with two threes to silence the Hood bench. After two blocks by Kevin Schenk, Lewis put a layup from a fast break to make the score 8-0. Lewis' layup forced the Blazers to call timeout. Just seven minutes into the game, Dunn put up a three pointer to push the lead to 22-7. The Pride run two more free throws from Dunn. With just above five minutes, Luke Mazur drained a three to make the score 33-19. The next minutes saw both sides scoring but Dunn ended the half with the last points to send the Pride to halftime with a 17-point lead.
 
Myles Bright opened the half with a good three pointer from a Dunn ball. Lewis extended the lead with three good foul shots to push the lead to 15. Dunn pulled a jumper in the paint with 11:32 remaining in the game. As the clock loomed over the Blazers' heads the team hit a dry spell. After nearly eight minutes of missed Pride shots, a Holden three sent the Pride lead back to 10 with 3:48 on the clock. Following Holden's bucket, the Pride went on an 9-5 run to finish out the game 73-62. In the dwindling seconds, Lewis and Dunn registered a block to send them to the MAC Commonwealth Championship game for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
 
On the evening, the Pride shot 18 of 55 (32.7%) from the floor, 10 of 24 (41.7%) from the arc, and 27 of 36 (75%) from the line. The team saw 16 points in the paint, 12 off turnovers, and nine from second chances.
 
UP NEXT
Widener will head to the MAC Commonwealth Championship game against the #1 playoff seed Alvernia. Tip-off on Saturday, Feb. 25 is set for 7 p.m.