News Release

NEW CASTLE, Del. — Senior Kris Clarkson scored 22 points, junior Malcolm Thomas sparked a huge run and senior Brandon Blakey hit key free throws down the stretch as Widener remained undefeated with a 75-62 victory at Division II Wilmington.

Widener (9-0) went on a 20-3 run bridging both halves to open a 48-30 lead with 16:18 remaining. Thomas scored 12 points in that span en route to finishing with 16 points.

The Pioneers' lead grew to 65-46 with 6:42 left, but the Wildcats (1-8) began their charge. They went on a 14-1 spurt to close to 66-60 with 2:49 to play and held Widener without a basket for over four minutes.

But that was as close as Wilmington would get. Blakey hit 7-of-8 from the line from that point forward, closing the game making 9-of-11.

Clarkson grabbed 10 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double and also shot 10-of-14 from the floor. Widener had four players in double figures with junior Essien Ford netting 16 points and junior Terry Smith adding season highs of 10 and 10 rebounds.

Widener shot 48 percent (30-of-63) overall from the field and gained a 43-27 rebounding edge. The Pioneers continued their best start since going 20-0 during the 1968-69 season.

Bradford Morris and Taurean Temple netted 15 points apiece for the Wildcats, who hit 41 percent (23-of-56) from the field.

Widener returns to action Thursday, December 22 at home against Immaculata, beginning at 7:00 pm.

Widener University vs Wilmington College Men
12/13/05 7:00 PM at New Castle, DE
At New Castle, DE
WIDENER UNIVERSITY 75, WILMINGTON COLLEGE MEN 62
WIDENER UNIVERSITY (9-0)
Kris Clarkson 10-14 2-3 22; Essien Ford 7-15 0-0 16; Malcolm Thomas 7-18 2-2
16; Terry Smith 5-8 0-0 10; Brandon Blakey 0-3 9-11 9; Ron Michael 1-1 0-0
2; Wyatt Haas 0-3 0-0 0; Brooke Tidswell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-63 13-16 75.
WILMINGTON COLLEGE MEN (1-8)
MORRIS, Bradford 7-10 0-0 15; TEMPLE, Taurean 5-16 4-4 15; SOWDEN, Tim 5-8
0-1 10; ROGERS, Chris 2-9 5-5 10; KOZLOWSKI, Ryan 2-6 0-0 5; THOMAS, Jason
1-3 2-3 4; WILLIAMS, Gary 1-3 1-2 3; EMMANUEL, Hervey 0-1 0-0 0. Totals
23-56 12-15 62.
Widener University............   35   40  -   75
Wilmington College Men........   27   35  -   62
3-point goals-Widener University 2-9 (Essien Ford 2-5; Malcolm Thomas 0-1;
Brandon Blakey 0-2; Wyatt Haas 0-1), Wilmington College Men 4-12 (KOZLOWSKI,
Ryan 1-2; ROGERS, Chris 1-3; MORRIS, Bradford 1-3; TEMPLE, Taurean 1-3;
EMMANUEL, Hervey 0-1). Fouled out--Widener University-None, Wilmington
College Men-None. Rebounds-Widener University 43 (Terry Smith 10; Kris
Clarkson 10), Wilmington College Men 27 (TEMPLE, Taurean 7). Assists-Widener
University 22 (Kris Clarkson 5; Malcolm Thomas 5), Wilmington College Men 12
(ROGERS, Chris 7). Total fouls-Widener University 12, Wilmington College Men
16. A-160