OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The Widener men's basketball team executed a late rally down the stretch to earn a much-needed 69-65 win over Stevenson on Saturday afternoon in MAC Commonwealth play at Owings Mills Gymnasium.
With the win, the Pride moved into a tie for fifth place in the MAC Commonwealth with Albright at 6-8. The Pride are one game behind Messiah for the fourth seed in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Tournament. The top four teams in the conference standings will earn a home game in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Steven Matlack led the way for the Pride, scoring 17 points.
Pat Holden added 13 points and
Jared Peters had 12 for Widener in the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST STEVENSON
- Battling back and forth with the Mustangs for the majority of the game, the Pride put together a 16-9 run in the final 5:32 of the game to overcome a 56-53 deficit and earn the victory. Matlack had five of his 17 points during the run, including a three-pointer that gave the Pride a 57-56 lead.
- Peters' 12 points, which all came in the second half, allowed him to surpass Earl Wentzel — Widener's first 1,000-point scorer — for 20th on Widener's all-time scoring list. The Reading, Pa. Native, who now has 1,113 points for his career, is now 27 points away from moving up to 19th on the list.
- During its five-game winning streak, Widener has only allowed 60 points per game.
- The Blue and Gold also did a great job taking advantage of Stevenson's mistakes, as they scored 17 points off the Mustangs' 19 turnovers.
UP NEXT
The Pride will return to Chester to host Alvernia in a key MAC Commonwealth game. A win over Alvernia and a Messiah loss against Hood would put Widener in a tie for fourth place in the MAC Commonwealth standings. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.
