News Release

TOWSON, Md. — A follow by Garrett Smith with :01 remaining provided Goucher with its first lead of the game tonight. And when Widener failed to get off a shot before the final buzzer sounded, the Gophers were able to celebrate an improbable 67-66 victory over the Pioneers.

The Gophers (10-2), who trailed by 13 points with less than four minutes left to play, pulled to within 66-65 on a three-point basket by Trevor Quinn with :22 showing on the clock. The deficit remained just one point when Widener's Brandon Blakely missed a pair of free throws with :16 remaining.

The Gophers managed to get the ball inside to an open Quinn, but the senior forward wasn't able to convert his lay-up attempt. Fortunately, Smith grabbed the rebound and stuck the follow.

Smith was the leading scorer and rebounder for Goucher as he furnished the Gophers with 19 points and 16 boards. Quinn contributed 14 points, eight rebounds, six assists and a blocked shot to the non-conference victory.

Matt Sheaffer turned in a 31-point, 12-rebound performance for Widener (6-5), which started off the game by hitting 11 of its first 14 attempts from the field to assume a 24-13 advantage midway through the first half. At halftime, the Pioneers enjoyed a three-point lead at 34-31.

After Sheaffer nailed three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to put Widener ahead 62-50 with 5:31 remaining, the Pioneers assumed their biggest lead of the contest on a free throw by David Douglas.

James Russo capped a 10-0 run by the Gophers with a three-pointer that knocked Widener's lead down to 63-60 with 2:07 left to play.

Goucher is now 11-2 in its last 13 home games against non-conference opponents and is 6-0 at home in 2004-05.