CHESTER, Pa. – A gut punch for #13 Widener Men's Basketball gives them their first loss in the Schwartz Center.
 
The 98-68 loss puts the Pride at 23-4 on the season with a MAC Commonwealth record of 12-2.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Anthony DiCaro led the Pride with 13 points and a steal.
• Howie Rankine and Steven Matlack saw 12 points a piece with Rankine leading the rebound game with nine.
• Off the bench, Luke Mazur saw 11 points in 18 minutes.
• The Pride shot 39.1% from the floor and saw 32 points in the paint with 13 fast break points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Pride opened hot with Kevin Schenk scoring the first Blue and Gold points. Minutes later Schenk would drain a triple to send the crowd in cheers. A defensive rebound from Howie Rankine would transition into a fast break jumper and Steven Matlack drained a triple to give them a six-point lead. The hot streak continued for the Pride as Matlack would hit another triple and later Rankine snagged four points to go up by seven. Rankine's four points started an 11-4 run. Right at the halfway mark, Schenk continued to put points on the board with a good layup. Luke Mazur saw his first triple with 7:48 on the clock. The Eagles would claw their way back into the game as the Pride defense fell flat. Heading into halftime, the Pride were down 48-46.
• Out of half, Matlack tied the game at 49 with DiCaro pushing the Pride over 50. Dominic Dunn saw a good jumper to lead into DiCaro's jumper. A stretch of Eagles offense stunned the Pride as they found themselves up 10. Mazur would cut the lead back down with a good triple. The hot streaked Eagles would hold the Pride to six more points in the final six minutes of the game. A pair of free throws from Matlack, a Rankine layup, and a Mazur layup with 20 seconds left would close out the game. The Pride would fall 98-69 in the championship game.

UP NEXT
Widener will await the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, Feb. 26. The 2024 NCAA Selection Show is set to air on ncaa.com at 1 p.m.