By Jimmy McCumber

The Albright College men's basketball team bounced back in a big way Wednesday, handing conference rival Widener their worst defeat since 2006 with an 84-61 decision in the Bollman Center.

Senior Dave Singleton totaled eight points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in just 25 minutes of action before giving way with the game in hand. Senior Zach Benjamin had a game-high 18 points, with Sam Marrella and Kyle Jordan adding 12 points each.

It was a team effort as 13 of the 15 Lions who dressed scored points. The two who didn't were in the box score with rebounds to their name.

Benjamin's bank shot gave Albright a 5-4 lead and the Lions were off to the races, going up 15-6 on Pedro Perez' three-pointer. Jordan made it 17-6 with a hard drive to the hole, and Marrella soon sank a three to put the Red and White ahead 22-12.

A Calvert Gantz block led to a Reuel Moore triple and a 25-12 lead. Singleton then lobbed Gantz for an alley-oop as Albright surged ahead 29-12.

Dillon Fields banked in a three-pointer, but Benjamin soon answered from behind the arc, making the score 41-23 Lions.

Another Benjamin trey right after halftime had the Lions ahead by 21 points, and the gap stretched to 54-31 as Perez found Jordan underneath with a nice pass.

Singleton assisted Marrella's three-pointer, then fed Jordan for a three-point play and his ninth assist of the game, putting Albright ahead 64-39 with almost 13 minutes still to play.

Freshman Andre Marshall had a flying slam dunk on the break, throwing it down over his defender despite being fouled on the play. Classmate Johnathan Amoroso stole a pass late and then hit a banked to put the Lions up 78-42.

The result marked the biggest Commonwealth Conference defeat for Widener since losing 73-48 to the Lions in the Bollman Center back in January, 2006 (and worst overall since November, 2006). The Pride were led by Fields, with 11 points and four assists.

Albright gets back on track following its first defeat of the season last weekend, improving to 2-1 in the Commonwealth and 6-1 overall. The Lions travel to face defending champion Messiah on Saturday night at 7 p.m.