(Widener vs. Rowan) / (Wentworth vs. Adrian)
Widener nearly came back from a 26-point deficit before a frantic crowd, but could not finish the job in a 90-80 loss to Rowan in the championship game of the Widener Tip-Off Classic at Schwartz Center.
Rowan (3-0), which held a 36-10 cushion with 8:26 to go, built a 53-32 halftime lead by shooting 50 percent (18-of-36) from the floor and 15-for-20 from the line. Roger Loatman scored 19 points in that span and Sean Hughes netted 10.
Widener (1-2) in the second half began its charge, using a 20-6 run to close to 67-56 with 6:59 left. Senior Chris McDevitt (Doylestown, PA) scored eight points in that span, capping it with a huge 3-pointer.
The Pride moved to 83-78 with 2:22 remaining when freshman Bob Makor (Philadelphia, PA) hit a layup. Jason Rosenberg made 1-of-2 from the stripe for Rowan with 1:49 to play and Makor hit two from the line for an 84-80 contest with 32 seconds to go.
Sean Hughes drilled 1-of-2 from the stripe to give the Profs an 85-80 cushion with 17 seconds remaining. Widener looked to cut into the deficit, but McDevitt saw his 3-point attempt bounce off the rim.
Laud Anderson hit 3-of-4 from the line and made a layup during the final seconds to close the scoring for Rowan.
McDevitt scored 16 points, junior Jack Brennan (Stratford, NJ) netted 13, juniors BJ Smith (Baltimore, MD) and Onyi Ezeala (Piscataway, NJ) poured in 12 each and freshman Bill Giberson (Hammonton, NJ) scored 10 for the Pride.
Loatman finished with 21 points, Akeem Johnson had 19 and 10 rebounds and Sean Hughes added 15 points for Rowan
Brennan and McDevitt made the all-tournament team for the Pride, who suffered their first loss in the tournament since it was re-instated in 2007. Brennan had 26 points and 14 rebounds over two games with McDevitt netting 21 points.
Loatman was tabbed the Most Valuable Player and Hughes also made the all-tournament team for the Profs. Wesley Reed from Adrian and Sam Herrick from Wentworth also were named to the team.
Adrian took third place with a 54-43 win over Wentworth.
Widener on Tuesday hosts Richard Stockton, beginning at 7:00 pm.
