BALTIMORE, Md. (Jan. 2, 2017) - The Widener University men's basketball team fell to Cortland State by an 88-86 score in the opening game of the 26th Annual Blue Jay Invitational on Monday afternoon at Johns Hopkins' Goldfarb Gymnasium.
Despite facing a 42-30 halftime deficit and trailing by as many as 16 points in the second frame, Widener did not give up and took a 68-67 lead when senior captain Kendall Green (Mount Laurel, N.J.) finished a pass from classmate John Fender (Wallingford, Pa.) with 2:40 mark to create a photo finish. The teams battled back and forth for the remainder of regulation, which featured four more lead changes and two ties, before having to settle the score in overtime.
The seesaw battle continued in the extra session, as Cortland State's James Morales opened the scoring by sinking a pair of free throws before Widener junior Sam Smith answered right back on the other end to give the Pride a 76-75 edge with 3:50 on the clock. Green then broke an 84-84 deadlock to put Widener ahead with 46 seconds left, but Justin Cooper answered right back at the charity stripe to even the score for the second time. Widener's attempt at the go-ahead basket was blocked by Joseph Carrel, and a putback by Zach Lydon with just three tenths of a second remaining following a missed 3-point attempt would prove to be the difference.
Cooper and Morales led the way for Cortland State (8-2), which won its fifth straight game by most notably sinking 26 of its 30 free throw attempts while holding the Pride to just 13-of-22 shooting from the stripe. Cooper registered a double-double with 20 points and 14 boards to go along with a team-leading four assists, while Morales contributed 26 points and eight boards.
Sambo paced Widener in the setback by scoring a career-high 30 points and most notably matching a tournament record by making 13 of his field goal attempts. The junior also filled the stat sheet with 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Green also set a career scoring mark by pouring in 24 points off the bench, while Smith added 18 points and drained four shots from beyond the arc. Fender had a career outing by dishing out five helpers.
Widener (5-6) wraps up tournament play when it faces Cazenovia in the consolation game tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m.
