Brian Smith Delivers the Heroics For Men's Basketball in 69-64 Overtime Win vs. Messiah

(box score)

Senior Brian Smith (Baltimore, MD) hit the tying 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds left in regulation and the go-ahead 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining in overtime for Widener, which notched a mammoth 69-64 Commonwealth Conference victory over first-place Messiah at Schwartz Center.

Christyan DeVan hit two free throws with 2:45 left in regulation to give Messiah (14-6, 8-2 CC) its biggest lead, 55-48. Senior Jack Brennan (Stratford, NJ) made consecutive layups to bring Widener within 55-52 with 2:07 remaining before Messiah's David Fernandez hit 1-of-2 from the line with 62 seconds to play for a four-point contest.

Zach Hoy made 1-of-2 from the stripe with 27 seconds to go, giving the Falcons a 57-52 cushion. Smith brought Widener (15-6, 6-4) within striking distance as his layup with 14 seconds remaining made it a three-point contest.

Fernandez was fouled and had a chance to ice it from the line, but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 12 seconds left and Brennan got the rebound in a 57-54 contest.

With Widener getting the ball one possession from a tie, Smith was called upon as the number one option. This would be the same player who hit a game-winning shot against Lebanon Valley in 2010, another against the Dutchmen in 2011 that was highlighted on ESPN's SportsCenter and another later that season at Elizabethtown.

Smith got the ball on the left wing, eluded a defender and banked in a 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds left for a 57-57 tie. The Falcons had a shot to escape, but Brad Bolen missed a 3-pointer from the left corner at the buzzer.

The overtime belonged to Smith, who shot 2-of-3 from 3-point range in the extra session and scored nine points. The first 3-pointer with 3:03 left gave the Pride a 62-57 lead. Trey Ritzman hit a 3-pointer to bring Messiah within 62-60 before Smith canned 1-of-2 from the stripe with 2:33 to go for a three-point contest.

Bolen made a jumper with 2:17 left for a 63-62 deficit and DeVan's fastbreak layup off a feed from Jeremiah Runkle with 48 seconds remaining gave the Falcons their only overtime lead, 64-63.

Then it was Smith again, who was open in the right corner and buried his last triple for a 66-64 Widener lead. Senior Perry Wright (Severn, MD) hit once from the line with 4.2 seconds remaining for a 67-64 margin, but Smith fittingly ended it by intercepting Derek Mosely's pass and hitting twice from the line with 1.8 seconds left for the final.

Smith scored 18 points to go with nine rebounds and four 3-pointers. Junior Rob McPherson (Bowie, MD) scored 13 points, Wright had 12 and 10 rebounds with Brennan adding 10 points.

Fernandez scored 12 points, Runkle netted 11, Ritzman had 10 and Mosely grabbed 10 rebounds for the Falcons.

Widener hits the road Wednesday to face Arcadia for an 8:00 pm start in Glenside, PA.

Print Friendly Version