Men's Basketball Makes it Five Alive With Shootout Victory at Whittier

(box score)

Widener saw six players score in double figures and had its way both in the paint and at the foul line for its fifth straight victory, 117-104 at Whittier.

Down 23-12 with 14:12 remaining in the first half, Widener (9-2) ended the half on a 44-22 run in which junior Lamar Jackson (Philadelphia, PA) owned the spotlight. He scored 13 of his 17 first-half points in that spurt, ending the half shooting 5-of-9 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the foul line.

The Poets (4-3) closed to 62-55 with 17:23 remaining before the Pride settled matters with a 15-4 run in just under three minutes, giving the visitors a 77-59 cushion. Senior Jack Brennan (Stratford, NJ), the two-time reigning Commonwealth Conference Player of the Week, scored six points in that span and junior Rob McPherson (Bowie, MD) ended it with two free throws.

Jackson established a season high with 29 points, shooting 9-of-17 from the floor and 10-for-11 from the line over 35 minutes. Brennan continued his torrid play with 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting and 12 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double and 11th career.

Perry Wright (Severn, MD) scored 18 points and hit 12-for-14 from the line, fellow senior Brian Smith (Baltimore, MD) netted 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, sophomore Bob Makor (Philadelphia, PA) poured in 12 points on 5-of-6 from the field and McPherson added 10 points.

Widener shot 54 percent (38-of-70) from the floor that included hitting 34-of-49 from inside the 3-point arc. Of those baskets, 25 of them came in the paint.

One night after going 27-for-40 from the line at Occidental, Widener shot 37-for-48 on this night that included 23-for-29 in the second half.

Greg Preer scored 22 points and Drew Menez added 20 for Whittier, which shot 44 percent (39-of-88) from the floor but benefitted from going 21-for-28 from the foul line.

Widener scored its most points since a 117-52 victory over Purchase College on November 21, 2004 in Boston, MA. The Pride also continue their best start since the 2007-08 campaign and the winning streak is their longest since a nine-game run late in the 2008-09 season.

The victory ended a great California trip for the Pride that included plenty of sightseeing, attendance to Saturday's basketball game between Southern California and Georgia in Los Angeles and Sunday's win 90-84 win at Occidental.

Widener returns to action January 4 against Neumann, beginning at 7:00 pm at Schwartz Center.

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