READING, Pa. -- Albright freshman DeJuan Smith set a school record by going 15-of-15 from the free throw line on his way to scoring a career-high 23 points and the Lions snapped a five-game losing streak with a 73-62 Commonwealth Conference victory over Widener on Wednesday in the Bollman Center.

Smith finished the game 15-of-15 from the free throw line, which marked the most free throws made in a game for Albright without a miss. His performance topped the previous school record of 14-of-14 set by Bill Carey in 1977 versus Upsala and later tied by Shawn Swavely in 1998 versus Drew. Smith's 23 points topped his previous career high of 20 points against Lebanon Valley and Alvernia.

The Lions posted their fifth consecutive win against Widener in the Bollman Center and notched their first victory since a win over Stevenson in early January.

Albright, which improved to 7-10 overall and 3-6 in the Commonwealth Conference, also received 13 points from Omari Ringgold and a career-high 12 points off the bench from Casey Burke. Vince Lombardi scored a career-high seven points and handed out a career-high five assists in 31 minutes of play in his second career start.

Widener, which lost for the eighth consecutive time, fell to 9-10 overall and 2-8 in league play. The Pride was led by Sardayah Sambo who had 11 points, while John Fender and Kendall Green each added 10 points.

Albright built up a big early lead and then held off a second-half charge by Widener to earn the victory.

After a free throw by Greg Lawson closed the Albright lead to 24-19 with 4:06 remaining in the first half the Lions responded with a 15-1 run to take a commanding lead.

Smith fueled the run by scoring nine points, including a four-point play with 1:33 to play before halftime.

Albright took its largest lead of the game when Burke connected on a jumper giving the Lions a 39-20 lead with 19 seconds left in the first half, and Albright took a 39-22 lead into the intermission.

Albright maintained a double-digit lead until midway through the second half when the Pride began their comeback.

After a pair of free throws by Smith gave Albright a 51-34 lead with 13:19 to play, Widener answered with a 13-0 run to climb to within 51-47 with 10:02 to play in the game.

Albright made four free throws to up the lead to 55-47 with 7:30 remaining in the second period.

The Lions increased the lead to double figures at 59-49 when Smith made four straight free throws with 6:02 to play in the game.

Widener made one more push behind a 6-0 run that cut the Albright lead to 61-57 with 4:03 left in the game, but the Lions closed the game on a 12-5 run to seal the victory.

Albright returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 31) when it visits Lebanon Valley for a 2 p.m. Commonwealth Conference game.