CHESTER, Pa. –
Calvert Gantz and
Omari Ringgold each scored 14 points, but Albright lost to Widener 62-58 in a MAC Commonwealth game on Wednesday in the Schwartz Center.
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Gantz tied his career-high by going 7-of-12 from the floor. He also added five blocked shots and six rebounds for the Lions.
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Ringgold was 6-of-13 from the field to tie Gantz for team-high scoring honors. Sophomore
DeJuan Smith recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
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Albright, which dropped its sixth consecutive game, fell to 6-13 overall and 3-7 in the MAC Commonwealth.
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Widener, which improved to 9-10 overall and 4-6 in conference play, shot 53.3 percent from the floor in the first half and 44.2 percent for the game.
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Sardayah Sambo had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Kendall Green added 16 points to lead Widener.
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Widener used a big run late in the first half to pull away from the Lions.
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Evan Dunn hammered home a dunk with 6:45 remaining in the first half to give the Lions a 22-20 lead.
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Widener responded with a 17-7 run to close the first half to take a 37-29 lead at the intermission.
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Sambo scored inside to extend the Widener lead to 39-29 lead with 19:25 to play in the second half.
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Albright responded with an 8-0 run to climb back into the game.
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Gantz begin the Albright run with a layup and Smith added a pair of free throws to trim the lead to 39-33 with 17:20 to play.
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Gantz and
Evan Ward followed with layups that brought Albright to within 39-37 with 13:42 remaining in the game.
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Sambo ignited a 9-0 Widener run with a dunk and Green scored seven consecutive points to extend the Pride lead to 48-37 with 10:33 left in the game.
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A pair of free throws by Sambo gave Widener its largest lead of the game at 61-49 with 2:04 left to play.
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A three-pointer by Smith jump started a 7-0 Albright run that cut the Widener lead to 61-56 with 1:03 remaining in regulation.
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Ryan McMahon made a free throw with 17 seconds to play to increase the lead to 62-56.
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A Ringgold layup brought Albright to within 62-58 with nine seconds to play.
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Sambo missed a pair of free throws with eight seconds to play, but Albright misfired on a three-point attempt with one second to play.
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Albright returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 30) when it visits Hood for a 3 p.m. MAC Commonwealth game.