News Release

CHESTER, Pa. — Junior center Kris Clarkson recorded a team-high 16 points and seven blocks as Widener (10-7, 4-3 Commonwealth Conference) defeated Messiah (13-4, 3-3 Commonwealth Conference) 75-64 Tuesday night.

The Pioneers finished the first-cycle of conference play with three straight conference wins and improve to 7-1 at the Schwartz Athletic Center.

Senior forward Matt Sheaffer scored 14 points while sophomore forward Malcolm Thomas scored 13 points off the bench as Widener put four players in double figures.

Sophomore guard Essien Ford had ten points for Widener, who shot 25-of-50 (50 percent) from the field including five three-pointers.

After spotting Messiah an early 6-0 lead, Widener charged back on the wings of a 12-0 run which was capped by a three-pointer from junior guard Brandon Blakey with 15:12 left in the opening half.

The Pioneers never trailed after that point, and Messiah came as close as one point two times. The last time was with 10:48 left in the first, as Jared Yoder hit a jumper to cut the Widener lead to 14-13.

Widener’s biggest lead of the half came with 1:41 left as Sheaffer hit a jumper for a 33-21 lead. Widener led 34-23 at the half.

In the second half, Widener’s lead did not slip below nine points as the Pioneers held off a late charge by Messiah to take the win.

David Henninger had 21 points and ten rebounds, both game-highs for Messiah. The Falcons did out-rebound Widener 34-32. Dave Carter had nine assists for Messiah, while Matt Sheaffer had five assists for Widener.

Clarkson finished with four steals for the Pioneers, who travel to Juniata on Saturday afternoon.

Newspaper Box Score
Messiah College vs Widener University
1/25/05 7:30 p.m. at Schwartz Athletic Center, Chester, Pa.
At Schwartz Athletic Center, Chester, Pa.
WIDENER UNIVERSITY 75, MESSIAH COLLEGE 64
MESSIAH COLLEGE (13-4, 3-3 CC)
David Henninger 9-19 3-5 21; Dave Carter 3-9 5-7 12; Quinn Mccullough 3-8
0-0 9; Zach Wiernicki 4-8 0-0 8; Jared Yoder 3-4 2-4 8; Femi Akinnagbe 1-4
0-0 2; Darryl Brown 1-2 0-0 2; Steve King 1-3 0-0 2; Matt Henninger 0-2 0-0
0. Totals 25-59 10-16 64.
WIDENER UNIVERSITY (10-7, 4-3 CC)
Kris Clarkson 5-8 6-8 16; Matt Sheaffer 5-7 4-7 14; Malcolm Thomas 5-8 1-1
13; Essien Ford 4-8 0-0 10; Casey Stitzel 2-11 5-6 9; Brandon Blakey 2-4 0-2
5; Ron Michael 2-3 1-2 5; Kofi Dwebeng 0-1 3-4 3. Totals 25-50 20-30 75.
Messiah College...............   23   41  -   64
Widener University............   34   41  -   75
3-point goals-Messiah College 4-16 (Quinn Mccullough 3-7; Dave Carter 1-5;
Jared Yoder 0-1; Femi Akinnagbe 0-1; Steve King 0-1; Matt Henninger 0-1),
Widener University 5-17 (Malcolm Thomas 2-5; Essien Ford 2-4; Brandon Blakey
1-1; Kofi Dwebeng 0-1; Casey Stitzel 0-5; Matt Sheaffer 0-1). Fouled
out--Messiah College-Jared Yoder, Widener University-None. Rebounds-Messiah
College 34 (David Henninger 10), Widener University 32 (Malcolm Thomas 6).
Assists-Messiah College 15 (Dave Carter 9), Widener University 13 (Matt
Sheaffer 5). Total fouls-Messiah College 28, Widener University 14. A-200
Commonwealth Conference game
Widener wins third-straight game and will travel to Juniata on Saturday
Pioneers improve to 6-1 at home