News Release

HUNTINGDON, Pa. — Widener University put four players in double figures as the Pioneers (11-7, 5-3 Commonwealth Conference) began the second-half of Commonwealth Conference play with a 78-54 win over homestanding Juniata College (8-11, 3-5 Commonwealth Conference) Saturday afternoon.

The win was Widener’s fourth straight, and second straight road victory. The four-game win streak is a season high for Widener.

Junior center Kris Clarkson had a game-high 19 points and game-high ten rebounds for Widener, who swept the season series from the Eagles. Clarkson also added four blocks in the contest and had eight steals.

Widener took Juniata out of the game early as the Pioneers opened up an early 12-point lead at 15-3 with just 14:23 left to go. The Pioneers held Juniata to just one field goal in the first seven minutes of the ballgame.

Widener’s lead stayed in double digits, before Juniata cut the lead to 38-33 at the half. The Eagles used three three-point field goals toward the end of the half to cut the deficit.

After Chris Jasiota made a foul shot with 19:35 left in the game for Juniata, the Eagles were down 38-34 but would not get any closer. Widener outscored Juniata 40-21 in the second half as the Pioneers held a 52-43 lead with 12:26 and built the lead from that point.

Senior forward Matt Sheaffer had 14 points, while sophomore guard Essien Ford had 12. Senior forward Casey Stitzel had 11 points for Widener, who shot over 57 percent (31-of-54) for the game from the field.

Brian Cannon had 14 points for Juniata, while Steve Holencik had 11.

Widener will host Moravian at 8 p.m. on Wednesday night. The Pioneers lost to the Greyhounds in overtime in the first cycle of Commonwealth Conference play.

Newspaper Box Score
Widener University vs Juniata College
1/29/05 2:00 at Huntingdon, PA (Memorial Gym)
At Huntingdon, PA (Memorial Gym)
WIDENER UNIVERSITY 78, JUNIATA COLLEGE 54
WIDENER UNIVERSITY (11-7, 5-3 CC)
Kris Clarkson 7-9 5-5 19; Matt Sheaffer 6-9 2-2 14; Essien Ford 5-8 0-0 12;
Casey Stitzel 4-8 2-2 11; Brandon Blakey 3-6 1-3 9; Malcolm Thomas 4-9 0-2
8; Kofi Dwebeng 1-2 0-0 3; Brooke Tidswell 1-2 0-0 2; Ron Michael 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 31-54 10-14 78.
JUNIATA COLLEGE (8-11, 3-5 CC)
Brian Cannon 7-13 0-0 16; Steve Holencik 5-9 0-1 11; Chris Jasiota 4-8 1-2
9; Tommy McConnell 3-7 1-2 7; Nick Hager 1-7 0-0 3; Travis Boyd 1-3 0-0 2;
Brent Ferko 1-1 0-0 2; Neil Holloway 1-1 0-0 2; Aaron Chamberlain 0-3 0-0 0;
Garrett Bull 0-2 0-0 0; Justin Price 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 23-57 4-7 54.
Widener University............   38   40  -   78
Juniata College...............   33   21  -   54
3-point goals-Widener University 6-14 (Brandon Blakey 2-3; Essien Ford 2-4;
Kofi Dwebeng 1-1; Casey Stitzel 1-3; Malcolm Thomas 0-2; Matt Sheaffer 0-1),
Juniata College 4-20 (Brian Cannon 2-4; Nick Hager 1-4; Steve Holencik 1-3;
Travis Boyd 0-2; Aaron Chamberlain 0-2; Garrett Bull 0-1; Justin Price 0-3;
Tommy McConnell 0-1). Fouled out--Widener University-None, Juniata
College-None. Rebounds-Widener University 28 (Kris Clarkson 10), Juniata
College 32 (Steve Holencik 7). Assists-Widener University 16 (Casey Stitzel
4; Kris Clarkson 4), Juniata College 10 (Tommy McConnell 4). Total
fouls-Widener University 8, Juniata College 17. A-585