READING, Pa. – After trailing by two in the first half, Dominic Dunn and company get hot to snatch a come from behind victory over the Alvernia Golden Wolves in the MAC Commonwealth Championship on the road in a hostile environment.
 
Following the 74-69 road victory, the Pride end the season as MAC Commonwealth Champion with a 19-8 overall record. Along with the team title, the Pride earned an automatic qualification to the 2023 NCAA Division III tournament which will begin on March 3^rd.
 
"I feel so grateful that this team earned the experience of playing in and winning the MAC Commonwealth Basketball Championship!" Head Coach Chris Carideo said. "After losing Matt and AJ in the beginning of the season, this team rallied around each other and stayed connected throughout the season." Coach Carideo has seen various types of teams over the years and has dealt with some unfortunate situations. "We had our ups and downs but it all came together in the last month. This group played with energy, effort, and with a high-level of connection to each other! It was very satisfying seeing greatness in them last night!"
 
After Dunn's performance, he was named Most Valuable Player. "MVP is a great honor and I'm blessed to have received it but winning last night was the ultimate team win," Dunn said. "Everyone contributed and made huge plays that lead to our win at various points throughout the 40 minutes. I'm just so proud and happy for everyone at Widener. It's well deserved from all the hard work and sacrifices they've made." Dunn recorded a double-double in points and rebounds, added two blocks to his stats, went 6 of 12 from the floor, and 3 of 4 from the charity line. On the season, Dunn drained 491 total points and grabbed 207 loose balls. After attending a championship team at Susquehanna, Dunn reconnected with Coach Carideo. Dunn knew "this group had the talent to win a championship." He couldn't be "more proud" of the way the team matured throughout the season, even after some injuries and tough loses. They all understood that it would be leading to something great.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Kenny Lewis and Kevin Schenk led the team with 16 a piece.
• Dunn earned a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
• From the bench, Luke Mazur drained eight points while shooting 50% from the arc.
• Team shooting: 29 of 59 (49.2%) from the floor, 6 of 19 (31.6%) for three, and 10 of 14 (71.4%) from the line.

HOW IT HAPPENED AT THE JACK MCCLOSKEY COURT
 
The Pride opened the game sluggish but Dunn got the team on the boards with a rebound and jumper. Following a few Pride turnovers and missed rebounds, Schenk drained a jumper right out of the Pride timeout. The score was 8-4 in favor of the Golden Wolves. With just over half to go, Pat Holden hit a good jumper from a Mazur ball to make the score 12-6. As the clock winded down in the first half, the Pride found themselves with an 11-point deficit after a Holden foul. With 7:46 left in the first, Myles Bright, Lewis, and Holden began to inch the score back down. The lead was down to six for the Golden Wolves. The team began to settle in as Schenk hit a three from Bright to cut the lead to five. Dunn answered Schenk's bucket with a jumper to make it a three-point game. After back and forth scoring from both sides, the pride really settled. With 1:29 remaining, Holden drained a three form a Schenk pass and Lewis hit a free ball from the charity stripe with :40 seconds. The Pride went into halftime trailing 33-31. After the slow start, the team went 13 of 30 (43.3%) from the floor and 2 of 8 (25%) from beyond the three line.
 
Coming out of halftime, Lewis got things going quickly with a layup to tie the game at 33. With 16:19, Dunn gave the Pride their first lead of the evening with a jumper from inside the paint. Malik Green and Keba Mitchell would give the Golden Wolves their lead right back, but not before Schenk drained a three from Holden to tie the game again at 38. The Pride battled it out for the better part of the middle of the second half before Mazur turned the tables with a three pointer from the far side arc. From there, Lewis and Mazur would add 10 points to make the score 55-49 in favor of the Blue and Gold. With 7:09, Dunn hit a three from a Lewis dish to extend the score back to four. A rally of a Dunn free throw and Steven Matlack jumper put the Pride back up to a six-point lead with 5:23. As time ticked down, the Golden Wolves inched back to a two-point deficit with 3:24 left. Dunn's rebounds, along with a Matlack three and Dunn assist put the Pride in a good spot up five. A layup from Lewis put the Golden Wolves on their back heels with just over a minute left. The free throw game became extremely important to the Pride as Holden hit 3 of 4 while Dunn sealed the title with a pair of his own. The final from Reading, Pa. was 74-69 as the Pride earned their 19^th season win and MAC Commonwealth Championship for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
 
UP NEXT
Widener will be dancing in the 2023 NCAA Division III tournament. The Selection Show will be broadcast live on ncaa.com at 1 p.m. on Feb 27^th.