Widener scored the first two points of the contest, but the Lions responded with the next seven points, all from Tom Murphy, and did not give up the lead for the rest of the half. Albright extended its lead to eight, 14-6, on a lay-up from Albert Medoro with 12 minutes left in the half. The Pride cut the Lion lead to three on a couple of occasions, the last coming on a James Jones bucket with 6:41 to play that made the score 19-16. Albright controlled the final minutes before the break, pushing the advantage to 13 points, 38-25, with a minute left in the half. Nyere Miller's three for Widener was the final score of the period as Albright took a 38-28 lead to the locker room at intermission.
The first 10 minutes of the second half were the Malcolm Thomas show, as the Widener senior single-handedly brought the Pride back into the game. He scored 14 of Widener's first 16 points in the first 5:30 of the second half as the Pride cut the Lion lead to four, 48-44. Three minutes later Thomas tied the game for the first time since the opening minutes with a three to make the score 50-50. Phil Hall briefly put Albright back on top with a lay up on Albright's next possession, but that would be the last Lion point for the next four minutes. Widener took advantage of the Lion cold spell, scoring seven unanswered points to take a 57-52 lead with 7:49 to play in the game. Kyle Brudvig scored in the paint to break the Albright drought, and Conroy followed with a triple to tie the game up at 57 with 7:06 on the clock. After a pair of Widener free throws gave the Pride a 59-57 lead, Conroy connected on a deep three to give Albright a 60-59 lead a spark a 7-0 run that would end with the Lions holding a 64-59 edge with 3:18 remaining. Albright led 67-61 after a pair of Medoro foul shots with 26 seconds on the clock, but Thomas knocked down a three at the other end to cut the Albright lead to 67-64. The Pride immediately fouled Kieselowsky, who made one of two from the line to push the lead to four, 68-64. Essian Ford's runner in the lane with nine seconds left pulled Widener within two, but Conroy sealed the deal with two free throws at the other end for the final score of the night.
Hall led Albright with a career-high 13 points, shooting 5-10 from the floor, including 3-6 from three-point land. Murphy finished with a double-double, scoring 12 points and pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds. Brudvig also finished with 12 points for the Lions. Kieselowsky had 10 assist for the Lions, leaving him just two assists short of 500 for his career. Thomas led all scorers with 33 points, shooting 11-16 from the field, 3-4 from three-point range, and 8-9 from the free throw line. Ford was the only other Widener player in double figures, finishing with 12 points.
The game also contained a special moment for the Lions, as it saw the return of junior Taylor Steltz to action for the first time this season. Steltz, who has missed all 20 games prior to tonight while battling cancer, dressed for the first time all season and checked into the game midway through the first half. He was greeted with a standing ovation from the Bollman Center crowd as his name was announced over the PA. Steltz played two minutes, and did not score in the game.
Newspaper Box Score Widener vs Albright 2/7/07 8:00 pm at Bollman Center - Reading, PA At Bollman Center - Reading, PA ALBRIGHT 70, WIDENER 66 WIDENER (11-10, 6-5 Comm.) Thomas, Malcolm 11-16 8-9 33; Ford, Essien 5-13 2-2 12; Miller, Nyere 2-5 0-0 6; Smith, Terry 3-10 0-0 6; Jones, James 2-10 0-0 4; Douglas, David 1-2 1-2 3; Johnson, Jamarr 1-2 0-0 2; Sosna, Matt 0-0 0-0 0; Edmunds, Bobby 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-59 11-13 66. ALBRIGHT (9-12, 4-7 Comm.) Phil Hall 5-10 0-0 13; Kyle Brudvig 5-7 2-2 12; Tom Murphy 4-8 2-4 12; Greg Conroy 2-4 2-2 8; Matt Kieselowsky 2-4 2-4 7; Andre Murphy 2-7 0-1 6; Albert Medoro 1-6 3-4 5; Michael Boles 2-5 1-1 5; Alex Schneider 0-2 2-2 2; John Bernat 0-1 0-0 0; Taylor Steltz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 14-20 70. Widener....................... 28 38 - 66 Albright...................... 38 32 - 70 3-point goals-Widener 5-20 (Thomas, Malcolm 3-4; Miller, Nyere 2-5; Jones, James 0-5; Douglas, David 0-1; Ford, Essien 0-5), Albright 10-19 (Phil Hall 3-6; Andre Murphy 2-4; Greg Conroy 2-3; Tom Murphy 2-3; Matt Kieselowsky 1-1; John Bernat 0-1; Albert Medoro 0-1). Fouled out--Widener-None, Albright-None. Rebounds-Widener 31 (Thomas, Malcolm 8), Albright 38 (Tom Murphy 10). Assists-Widener 9 (Ford, Essien 4), Albright 15 (Matt Kieselowsky 10). Total fouls-Widener 17, Albright 15. A-561