(boxscore)
Widener pulled away in the second half and took a huge step toward the Commonwealth Conference number one seed with a 64-51 victory at Albright in Reading, PA.
Leading 50-45 with 9:09 left, the Pride (17-5, 7-2 CC) scored seven straight points to open a 57-45 point lead with 6:41 remaining. Charles Jones (Philadelphia, PA) scored five points in that span and fellow senior Matt Sosna (Stratford, NJ) capped in on a layup.
Widener led by at least eight the rest of the way and bumped its lead over Albright (14-8, 5-4) and Messiah to two games atop the league. The Pride on Saturday against Lycoming can clinch at least the number two seed for the conference tournament with a win and can secure the top seed with a win plus a Messiah loss at Albright.
Jones ended with 17 points, Sosna netted 12 and junior Jamarr Johnson (Pittsgrove, NJ) had 11 and eight rebounds for Widener, which shot 42 percent (24-of-57) from the floor and hit six 3-pointers.
Phil Hall scored 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting and Andrew Pomager had nine off the bench for the Lions, who shot only 38 percent (9-of-24) in the second half and committed 15 turnovers overall.
Jones poured in 12 first-half points for Widener, which forced Albright into nine turnovers during that stretch for a 33-28 lead.
Widener's home game Saturday is at 3:00 pm. Preceding that, the women play at 1:00 pm and will take part in the “Pink Zone,” the WBCA initiative to help find a cure for breast cancer. All fans are asked to wear pink.
