Seniors Essien Ford and Malcolm Thomas (Baltimore, MD) each hit consecutive 3-pointers as Widener moved to 28-25 with 1:50 left in the opening half.
But Messiah (12-5, 6-0 CC) drilled a trio of 3-pointers to close the half for a 37-25 lead. Jonathan Boyd nailed two and Matt Henninger hit one for the Falcons, who shot 57 percent (13-of-23) from the floor in the half and 6-of-12 from 3-point range.
Messiah led by at least eight in the second half, ending the contest shooting 49 percent (25-of-51) from the field and 11-of-22 from beyond the arc.
Jared Yoder ended with 17 points and 10 rebounds to pace five players in double figures for the Falcons. Ryan Witmer had 13 points and seven rebounds, Boyd scored 12 points on four 3-pointers, Darryl Brown netted 11 and Matt Henninger added 10.
Thomas finished with 17 points and senior Terry Smith added 15 and eight rebounds for Widener (10-6, 5-1), which shot 50 percent (17-of-34) in the second half and 45 percent (28-of-62) overall. The Pride owned a 38-12 edge on points in the paint, but could not overcome hitting 4-of-13 from 3-point range.
Widener hits the road Wednesday to face Elizabethtown as part of a doubleheader with the women’s team. The women’s game begins at 6:00 pm, followed by the men’s contest at 8:00 pm.
Messiah vs Widener 1/20/07 3:05 pm at Chester, PA At Chester, PA MESSIAH 74, WIDENER 61 MESSIAH (12-4, 6-0 CC) Jared Yoder 6-14 4-4 17; Ryan Witmer 4-7 3-4 13; Jonathan Boyd 4-7 0-0 12; Darryl Brown 5-10 0-0 11; Matt Henninger 3-5 2-2 10; Jason Miller 2-6 3-3 8; Bo Miller 1-1 1-2 3; Drew Sneeringer 0-1 0-0 0; Andy Hawk 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-51 13-15 74. WIDENER (10-6, 5-1 CC) Thomas, Malcolm 8-15 0-1 17; Smith, Terry 7-15 1-4 15; Ford, Essien 4-11 0-0 9; Douglas, David 3-4 0-0 7; Edmunds, Bobby 2-2 0-0 5; Jones, James 2-6 0-0 4; Sosna, Matt 1-1 0-0 2; Miller, Nyere 1-8 0-0 2; O'Connor, Brian 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-62 1-5 61. Messiah....................... 37 37 - 74 Widener....................... 25 36 - 61 3-point goals-Messiah 11-22 (Jonathan Boyd 4-6; Matt Henninger 2-2; Ryan Witmer 2-2; Darryl Brown 1-5; Jared Yoder 1-5; Jason Miller 1-1; Drew Sneeringer 0-1), Widener 4-13 (Edmunds, Bobby 1-1; Douglas, David 1-2; Thomas, Malcolm 1-2; Ford, Essien 1-2; Miller, Nyere 0-5; Jones, James 0-1). Fouled out--Messiah-None, Widener-None. Rebounds-Messiah 35 (Jared Yoder 10), Widener 28 (Smith, Terry 8). Assists-Messiah 16 (Jared Yoder 6), Widener 15 (Smith, Terry 4). Total fouls-Messiah 9, Widener 14. A-505