(boxscore)
Widener opened a 16-point halftime lead and held off a late charge from 15th-ranked Gettysburg in an 80-75 victory at Schwartz Center.
Widener (7-3) put four players in double figures, led by 22 points from Charles Jones (Philadelphia, PA) and 14 from fellow senior Nyere Miller (Washington, DC). Sophomore Chris McDevitt (Doylestown, PA) had 18 points off the bench for the Pride.
For Gettysburg (4-2), sophomore center Andrew Powers scored a game-high 23 points, with senior guard Corey Dorsey adding in 18.
An old-fashioned three-point play Jones at 5:52 maintained a 10-point margin for Widener. Bullets guard Dan Capkin drilled a 3-pointer on the visitors' next possession, bringing Gettysburg within 70-63.
Junior
Jamarr Johnson (Pittsgrove, NJ) had a finger-roll lay-up in the lane to put Widener up 72-63. Lay-ups by Powers and Capkin closed the gap to 72-67 at 2:45 and Dorsey daringly drew a Widener offensive foul to give the ball back to Gettysburg. Powers brought the Bullets within three points on a double-pump left-handed drive at 2:17.
Johnson found a seam in the Gettysburg defense on the other end, dropping in jump hook for a five-point Widener advantage. Dorsey's long triple was off the mark and Gettysburg's backcourt pressure forced the Pride to take two timeouts in the backcourt.
Johnson drew a foul and went to the line in the double-bonus, making one of two for a 75-69 Widener advantage with 1:04 left. Johnson took a charge on the other end of the floor and Gettysburg was forced to foul Jones with 49.8 showing on the board.
The Pride converted five of eight from the line to ice the victory, despite a late pair of three-pointers by the Bullets.
An 18-8 Widener run energized the crowd early on, with the home team taking a 22-12 lead on a lay-up by McDevitt. The Pride dominated both sides of the floor in the first half, using the bounce to effectively attack the rim for 16 points in the paint. Their full-court zone press disrupted the flow of Gettysburg's offense, creating 15 turnovers while holding the visitors to 29 percent (7-for-24) shooting from the floor.
Powers proved to be one effective option, tallying nine first-half points and six rebounds in the first half. Two free throws at 7:16 got the visitors within 25-19.
Widener is off for the remainder of the semester, resuming play January 2 against St. Lawrence at the Buffalo State Holiday Invitational in Buffalo, NY.
