(boxscore)

Senior Matt Sosna (Stratford, NJ) scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second half for No. 7 Widener, which overcame a 15-point second-half deficit for a 60-56 season-opening win over Montclair State at the Ramada Inn/Monarch Classic in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Senior Charles Jones (Philadelphia, PA) nailed a jumper with 2:59 left to bring Widener to a 54-54 tie.  After the Red Hawks' Ryan Washington missed a dunk, Sosna went the other way and hit a jumper with 2:15 remaining for a 56-54 cushion.

Jones hit 1-of-2 from the line with one minute left for a 57-54 margin and the Pride had to survive missed 3-pointers from Ken Dudley and John Byrne.  Jones found himself with the ball again in the clutch, making 1-of-2 from the stripe with 25 seconds left for a four-point game.

Sean Young made a layup for Montclair State as he was fouled with 18 seconds remaining for a 58-56 contest.  But he missed the free throw and the rebound went to Sosna, who canned two from the line with 16 seconds left for the final margin.

Sosna shot 5-of-7 overall from the floor, 9-of-10 from the stripe and grabbed eight rebounds over 30 minutes for Widener (1-0).  Jones scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting and senior Nyere Miller (Washington, DC) hit three 3-pointers for nine points.

The Pride were down 44-29 with 13:59 left and outscored the Red Hawks, 33-21, in the second half.

Young scored 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting for Montclair State (0-1).

Widener was preseason ranked seventh by Small College Hoops, 23rd by D3Hoops.com and picked to win a third straight Commonwealth Conference title.  The squad on Sunday faces either host King's or New York City Tech in the final at 3:00 pm.