OWINGS MILLS, Md. (Feb. 4, 2017) – Junior Sardayah Sambo (Middletown, Del.) scored 20 points by shooting 80 percent from the floor and the charity stripe to propel the Widener University men's basketball team to a convincing 90-64 road victory over Stevenson on Saturday afternoon at the Owings Mills Gymnasium.
 
The Pride got off to a slow start and found themselves trailing early by scores of 5-0 and 15-8. Ben Wiebusch set up the opening basket and then converted from downtown before a Cameron Hayes dunk gave the Mustangs a seven-point advantage with 14:57 on the clock.
 
Following a media timeout, Widener started to come to life and took its first lead at 22-21 when Sardayah Sambo (Middletown, Del.) finished a pass from senior John Fender (Wallingford, Pa.) with 7:51 to go. The Pride then caught fire from long range to build up a sizable lead, which was capped by a 3-pointer taken from the right arc in the final seconds by sophomore Nick Jackson (Rockville, Md.) which zinged the strings. The Jackson basket gave the visitors a 42-31 advantage heading into the break.
 
Widener stayed in control throughout the second half to earn their sixth victory over an eight-game stretch. Fender kept the visitors hot from long range by firing home a 3-pointer on the opening possession, and junior Sam Smith (Wyomissing, Pa.) canned back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to make it 64-51 with 11:22 left to play. Fender then extended the margin to 20 at 71-51 by dialing up from long distance, providing more than enough insurance for the Pride to run away with the win.
 
Sambo finished with 20 points and blocked four shots for Widener, which set two season highs by shooting 59.3 percent (32-of-54) from the field and a blistering 94.4 percent (17-of-18) at the charity stripe. The team also shot 50 percent (9-of-18) from long range with six different players converting at least one 3-pointer. Smith filled the stat sheet with 14 points, seven boards, four assists and three steals, while Jackson was a spark off the bench by finishing with 15 points. Sophomore Ryan McMahon (Mount Laurel, N.J.) dished out six assists.
 
Cameron Hayes paced Stevenson (4-18, MAC Commonwealth 2-11) by racking up a game-high 22 points to go along with a team-leading seven boards. Cliff Cornish added 13 points by most notably shooting a productive 6-of-8 from the floor.
 
Widener (12-9, MAC Commonwealth 6-6) returns home for two games and will next face Messiah on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m.