(boxscore)
2/5/08 -- Junior Matt Sosna (Stratford, NJ) scored 18 of his career-high 22 points in the second half for Widener, which rallied from 25 points down for an incredible 88-77 Commonwealth Conference victory at Elizabethtown.
Down 43-18 in the first half and 53-29 with 17:38 left, Widener (17-3, 3-2 CC) came back for its ninth victory in 11 outings and pulled into a tie with Lycoming for second place in the conference.
The Pride outscored the Blue Jays 64-30 in the second half by shooting an astounding 69 percent (22-of-32) from the floor and 6-of-11 from 3-point range. The home team was limited to only 46 percent shooting (12-of-26) and 1-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Chad Piersol hit a layup with 9:26 left to give the Blue Jays (14-5, 1-4) a 68-58 lead. But the Pride embarked on a 19-3 run to open a 77-71 cushion with 4:11 remaining, thanks to eight points from junior Nyere Miller (Washington, DC).
Elizabethtown was held without a field goal during that span.
Miller brought the Pride even at 69 on a 3-pointer with 5:52 to play. After Piersol's free throws for a 71-69 contest, Sosna's layup with 5:24 left knotted the game at 71.
On the next possession, Miller stole the ball from Joe Flanagan and hit a fast-break layup with 5:07 remaining for a 73-71 advantage. It was Widener's first lead since 4-3 in the game's first minute.
Junior Charles Jones (Philadelphia, PA) hit two free throws with 4:54 to go for a 75-71 cushion and Sosna's layup with 4:11 left ended the run.
Sosna shot 9-of-11 from the floor and 7-of-9 in the second half, helping the Pride hit 54 percent (32-of-59) overall from the field and 8-of-18 from 3-point range.
Miller scored 17 points and was 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Jones netted 13 points, sophomore Jamarr Johnson (Pittsgrove, PA) had 12 and seven rebounds, freshman Branden Washington (Elkridge, MD) poured in 12 points and sophomore Bobby Edmunds (Linwood, NJ) had 10.
Piersol had 21 points and eight rebounds with Mike Church adding 15 points for the Blue Jays, who shot 48 percent (30-of-62) from the field.
Widener on Saturday visits Lycoming as part of a doubleheader with the women's team. The women's game begins at 1:00 pm, followed by the men's contest at 3:00 pm.
