IMMACULATA, Pa. (Nov. 22, 2016) – Sophomore Nick Jackson (Rockville, Md.) scored a career-high 20 points in leading the Widener University men's basketball team to an 84-77 victory over Immaculata on Tuesday evening at Alumnae Hall.
 
After a tight first half which featured five ties and eight lead changes, Widener came out strong in the second frame and built up a nine-point advantage when sophomore Ryan McMahon (Mount Laurel, N.J.) found senior John Fender (Wallingford, Pa.) for a layup to make it 53-44. Jackson broke a 38-all tie and sparked a 15-6 run by providing 11 points during the stretch to allow the visitors to pull away. McMahon then sank a 3-pointer to put Widener up by double digits before finding Fender for a trey to give Widener its largest lead at 65-53 with 8:57 on the clock.
 
The Mighty Macs made it a one-possession game when James Willis nailed a 3-point field goal to create a 66-63 score, but their hopes were dashed when senior Kendall Green (Mount Laurel, N.J.) converted from long range on the ensuing possession. Junior Sam Smith (Wyomissing, Pa.) pushed Widener back ahead by nine at the charity stripe and also hit free throws in the final minute to put the game out of reach.
 
The first half was a seesaw battle between the squads in which neither side led by more than five points. Widener led for most of the stanza and found itself up by four courtesy of a Green layup before  unfortunately surrendering the lead. But with the Mighty Macs threatening to take a lead into the break with the ball and the score tied at 38s, Sardayah Sambo (Middletown, Del.) came up with a huge block on a last-second layup attempt by Mike Piekarski to give the Pride all the momentum moving forward.
 
Jackson netted a career-best 20 points for Widener by shooting a blistering 8-of-11 from the field, including 2-of-2 from long range, and 2-of-3 at the line. Sambo also netted 20 points while contributing eight boards, four assists and four blocks. McMahon set a career mark for assists with eight and also tallied eight points. Green and Smith netted 16 and 11, respectively, and combined for 11 rebounds as well as five helpers.
 
Immaculata (1-3) was paced by Matt Simon, who netted 26 points and grabbed six rebounds in the losing effort. Roy Ferrell Jr. added 19 points and eight boards, while Piekarski tallied eight points and dished out seven assists.
 
Widener (2-1) returns home to face Ursinus on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 2:00 p.m.