BALTIMORE, Md. (Jan. 3, 2017) – Junior captain Sardayah Sambo (Middletown, Del.) scored 14 points in leading the Widener University men's basketball team to a 75-56 triumph in the consolation game of the 26th Annual Blue Jay Invitational at Johns Hopkins' Goldfarb Gymnasium on Tuesday afternoon.
 
The teams traded baskets in the beginning and exchanged the lead five times in the opening minutes. Sambo, however, converted a jumper to spark a 12-0 run which was capped by a jumper coming off the hands of sophomore Jair Williams (Baltimore, Md.) to give the Pride a commanding 17-6 advantage. Cazenovia scored its first basket in nearly six minutes when Josh Gonzalez sank a bucket with 12:48 remaining and only came within seven courtesy of a Nicholas Filippi basket before eventually trailing by a 36-24 margin at the break.
 
Despite being plagued by cold shooting in the early going, Widener maintained its double-digit lead throughout the second half and built its advantage up to 20 shortly before the midway point. Sambo opened the scoring once again by finishing a pass from sophomore Ryan McMahon (Mount Laurel, N.J.) on the team's opening possession and then made it 55-35 with a jumper at the 10:37 mark. The margin later ballooned to 22 on a trifecta by freshman Connor Laverty (Upper Township, N.J.), which provided more than enough insurance for Widener to come away with its sixth win of the season.
 
The Pride were led by senior captain Kendall Green (Mount Laurel, N.J.) and Sambo. Green finished with 11 points to go along with five boards and two assists, while Sambo added a team-high 14 points. Sambo also made the all-tournament team after averaging 22 points, 7.5 rebounds and two blocks while shooting 65.5 percent from the floor over the two games. Laverty scored a career-best 11 points, and McMahon dished out seven assists.
 
Jaceary Menes paced Cazenovia (0-10) in the setback by contributing 12 points. Filippi had a strong all-around performance with eight points, seven boards, and four helpers.
 
Widener (6-6) resumes Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth action when it visits Messiah on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 5 p.m.