(boxscore)
Torrid shooting and a seven-point run late in the contest doomed Widener in an 86-76 loss to Gwynedd-Mercy at Schwartz Center.
Junior Jamarr Johnson (Pittsgrove, NJ) stole the ball from Tim McCauley and made a layup, moving the Pride to a 65-61 deficit with 6:59 left. But the Griffins (5-1) went on a 9-2 burst to grab a 74-63 cushion with 4:54 left, capped on a dunk from Jon Hogga.
Gwynedd-Mercy led by at least seven the rest of the way, shooting 58 percent (34-of-59) from the floor aided by hitting 60 percent (18-of-30) in the first half. The visitors also buried 9-of-15 from 3-point range.
Matt Johnson scored 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting with three 3-pointers for the Griffins. Hogga poured in 10 if his 14 points after intermission, Dan DelConte netted 14 and Dave Smith had 12 and 12 rebounds.
Johnson closed with 16 points and 10 rebounds for his second career double-double for the Pride (5-3). Seniors Charles Jones (Philadelphia, PA) and Nyere Miller (Washington, DC) netted 15 points apiece for Widener, which shot only 39 percent 13-of-33) in the second half and 43 percent (29-of-67) overall.
Widener hits the road Wednesday to face Rowan, beginning at 8:00 pm in Glassboro, NJ.
