GRANTHAM, Pa. (Jan. 7, 2017) – The Widener University men's basketball team staged a late comeback attempt before eventually dropping a pivotal early Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth contest to Messiah by a 72-65 decision on Saturday afternoon at Brubaker Auditorium.
 
Despite trailing the entire second half and facing a seven-point deficit at the break, Widener did not go away and slashed a 13-point deficit down to just two in the waning minutes. Senior captain Kendall Green (Mount Laurel, N.J.) stole the ball and converted two free throws to make it 67-65 with 1:06 left, but Neil Murren drove in for a bucket at the other end to give the Falcons room to breathe. A John Fender (Wallingford, Pa.) attempt to cut the lead in half fell short off the backboard, and the hosts made free throws down the stretch to escape with the win.
 
Messiah (7-6, MAC Commonwealth 2-3) got off to a strong start and forced Widener to burn a timeout four minutes into the contest when Logan Long drove in for a reverse layup to make it 11-4 in favor of the hosts. Widener, however, came out of the quick break completely rejuvenated and as a brand-new team. Junior captain Sardayah Sambo (Middletown, Del.) made two quick layups to put the Pride within striking distance and later sank a jumper to cap a 14-1 run and give the Pride an 18-12 lead at the 9:22 mark. The Falcons, however, recovered and used a 10-0 run to eventually take a 35-28 advantage into the recess.
 
With Green leading the charge, Widener quickly chipped away at the deficit in the second half and slashed the deficit to just two points. Green sank a jumper and then a trifecta to close the gap to 35-33, but the hosts shook it off and answered with back-to-back shots from downtown off the fingers of Murren to burst ahead by double digits with 17 minutes on the clock.
 
Widener had its opportunities to continue to climb back and most notably played the last 13:49 in the bonus during a foul-plagued second half. But after junior Sam Smith (Wyomissing, Pa.) sank a trifecta to bring the Pride within seven, Messiah seized the momentum and went ahead by 13 just past the midway point when Josh Darville put back a missed 3-point attempt by Nate Eberle to create a 56-43 score. The margin would prove to be too much for the Pride to overcome, as the visitors came no closer than two before eventually suffering another conference setback.
 
Josh Clippinger led the way for Messiah by registering a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Murren added 15 points on perfect shooting, and Matt Hess finished with 11 points to go along with seven assists.
 
Sambo paced Widener with a double-double of his own, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to nearly match the performance of Clippinger. Smith and Green contributed 14 and 12 points, respectively, while Green also pulled down seven boards.
 
After playing four straight games away from the Schwartz Center, Widener(6-7, MAC Commonwealth 1-4) will return home to face Alvernia on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 8 p.m.