Senior forward Malcolm Thomas added 17 points and sophomore guard Nyere Miller added 11 for Widener (10-5, 5-0 CC), which remained undefeated in the Commonwealth.
Senior guard Hunter Bretschneider led Lebanon Valley (10-6, 2-3 CC) with a season-high 20 points on 5-of-10 3-point shooting while senior guard Jimmy Curran notched 18 points for the Flying Dutchmen.
Widener broke the game open with a 12-0 run over an 8:58 stretch midway through the second half. A 3-pointer from Curran made it 42-40 with 16:04 left, but that would turn out to be the Valley’s last points before a tip-in from sophomore forward Eric Humphrey made it a 52-44 game with 7:06 remaining.
The Pride milked the shot clock on each possession down the stretch, and extended its advantage to as much as 12 on two occasions. The Dutchmen narrowed the gap into single digits with 1:59 left when a Bretschneider trey made it 60-52, but Widener put the game away at the foul line, making 10 of 11 free throws inside the final two minutes.
Widener shot 84.6% (22-for-26) at the line for the game.
The Pride raced to an 18-4 lead over the opening 13:01, with Thomas scoring eight points along the way. It was still a 14-point game (20-6) after a Miller lay-up with 11:44 left in the opening half before the Valley climbed back into it with a 15-3 run. Five different Dutchmen scored during the spurt, and a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Dan Hodge pulled LVC to within 23-21 with 5:42 left in half.
Lebanon Valley came all the way back to tie it on a lay-up from senior forward Brian Wolensky (25-25) and later on a James Shinn bucket (27-27), but Widener answered with a 7-0 surge, which freshman forward Brian O’Connor kick-started off the bench with a 3-pointer and a fast-break lay-up. Shinn ended the half with a pair of free throws three seconds before the buzzer to make it a 34-29 game at the break.
The Dutchmen were clicking offensively at the start of the second half, outscoring Widener 8-2 to start the stanza. Curran and Bretschneider each connected on a 3-ball, then Curran gave LVC its first lead of the night (37-36) on a jumper with 17:58 on the clock. Bretshneider followed up with a fast-break lay-up, setting up Curran’s trey that proceeded Widener’s decisive run.
Ford and Thomas collected eight rebounds apiece for Widener while freshman guard Bobby Edmunds handed out six assists for the Pride.
Sophomore guard Kyle Enoch distributed a career-high nine assists for the Dutchmen while junior center Luke Foster tied a career-high with eight rebounds and blocked three shots.
Widener vs Lebanon Valley At Annville, PA - LVC Gymnasium WIDENER 71, LEBANON VALLEY 58 WIDENER (10-5, 5-0 CC) Ford, Essien 8-21 8-9 24; Thomas, Malcolm 7-12 2-3 17; Miller, Nyere 3-6 4-6 11; Smith, Terry 3-8 2-2 8; Edmunds, Bobby 0-5 6-6 6; O'Connor, Brian 2-2 0-0 5; Stewart, Craig 0-0 0-0 0; Sosna, Matt 0-0 0-0 0; Johnson, Jamarr 0-0 0-0 0; Douglas, David 0-1 0-0 0; Jones, James 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-56 22-26 71. LEBANON VALLEY (10-6, 2-3 CC) H. Bretschneider 7-13 1-1 20; Jimmy Curran 7-14 0-1 18; Eric Humphrey 3-8 0-0 6; James Shinn 1-3 2-2 4; Dan Hodge 1-8 0-0 3; Dan Dunkelberger 0-1 3-5 3; Brian Wolensky 1-1 0-0 2; Luke Foster 1-2 0-0 2; Peter Ruth 0-1 0-0 0; Kyle Enoch 0-6 0-0 0; Dustin Kerns 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-57 6-9 58. Widener....................... 34 37 - 71 Lebanon Valley................ 29 29 - 58 3-point goals--Widener 3-18 (Miller, Nyere 1-4; O'Connor, Brian 1-1; Thomas, Malcolm 1-3; Edmunds, Bobby 0-3; Ford, Essien 0-7), Lebanon Valley 10-24 (H. Bretschneider 5-10; Jimmy Curran 4-5; Dan Hodge 1-4; Kyle Enoch 0-4; Eric Humphrey 0-1). Fouled out--Widener-None, Lebanon Valley-None. Rebounds--Widener 37 (Ford, Essien 8; Thomas, Malcolm 8), Lebanon Valley 37 (Luke Foster 8). Assists--Widener 16 (Edmunds, Bobby 6), Lebanon Valley 18 (Kyle Enoch 9). Total fouls--Widener 14, Lebanon Valley 21. Technical fouls--Widener-None, Lebanon Valley-None. A-903