CHESTER, Pa. - It was fitting the deciding points in Wednesday night, Feb. 22's Commonwealth Conference men's basketball semifinal game between Lycoming College and Widener University was scored by Lycoming senior Mike Bradley (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep). On the doorstep of his hometown, Bradley scored a career-high 31 points to will third-seeded Lycoming to a 79-77 win over No. 2 Widener at the Schultz Athletic Center.

Bradley's bucket helped open up a five-point lead at 79-74 with 1:22 left in the extra period after a 3-pointer from junior Ihsaan Davis (Jamaica, N.Y./Christ the King) broke the tie with 2:14 left.Widener closed within a bucket after a 3-pointer from Andrew Radomicki and Widener got the ball back with a chance to win the game, but the Warriors put together one of its toughest defensive stands of the season, and a deperation 3-pointer went off the mark, handing Lycoming (19-7 overall) its first win in four tries in the postseason against the Pride (18-8 overall).

Lycoming hit all four of its shots from the field in overtime and shot 49 (34-for-69) percent during the game, while holding Widener to 39 percent (29-of-73), as Lycoming reached the Commonwealth Conference title game for the third time in the last five years, where they will face top-seeded Messiah, a 70-65 overtime winner over Albright, on Saturday, Feb. 25. The game will be played at Messiah with a tip set for 3 p.m.

After the two teams traded five points to open the second half, the Warriors went on a 16-2 run, taking a 51-35 lead with 13:15 left after a bucket by freshman Patrick Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood). The Warriors kept the lead at 15 as late as 9:27 before the Pride made a late run, outscoring the Warriors 27-12 in the final 10 minutes. The Pride scored the last seven points in regulation, as Brian Smith hit the game-tying three with a stutterstep with 31 seconds left.

In overtime, Widener hit the first bucket, but a 3-pointer from Bradley gave Lycoming a one-point lead. After a 3-pointer from Brian Smith gave Widener the lead back, junior Anthony Martin (Detroit, Mich./Christ the King) hit a fastbreak layup to tie the game at 74, setting up the deciding moments.

In the first half, both teams played extremely tight, with neither team taking more than a four-point lead and fighitng through eight ties and 10 lead changes. The Pride took a two-point lead with a dunk by Rob McPherson, the Warriors responded with four straight points to close the half, as Bradley hit a layup with 30 seconds left before a backcourt steal by Martin led to a fastbreak dunk with five seconds left in the period to give Lycoming a 30-28 lead.

Bradley finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds and Martin added 19 points, four rebounds and two steals to lead the Warriors. Dougher notched eight points and three assists and junior Jerald Williams (Riverdale, Md./Bladensberg) posted two points, six rebounds and seven assists.

Smith posted 27 points, five rebounds and four assists and Wright posted 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Pride. Jack Brennan added 10 points and six rebounds and Rob McPherson posted four points, 11 rebounds and three steals.