News Release

CHESTER, Pa. — Senior Kris Clarkson and junior Essien Ford scored 23 points apiece as No. 1 seed Widener held over fourth-seeded Elizabethtown for a 74-69 victory in the Commonwealth Conference semifinals at Schwartz Center.

The Pioneers (21-4) advance to the conference championship game for the second time in three seasons and will host either No. 2 seed Messiah or third-seeded Albright on Saturday. Tip-off at Schwartz Center is 3:00 pm.

Widener will look to win its 13th conference title in school history and first since 2001.

No team held more than a five-point edge for a over a 10-minute stretch of the second half until senior Brooke Tidswell hit a layup with 2:34 left for a 64-59 Pioneers’ lead.

The schools continued to keep it close, but Clarkson was determined to lead the team. His dunk with 55 seconds left gave Widener a 67-63 cushion and brought a roar from the raucous crowd. Elizabethtown (15-10) moved to 67-65 with 40 seconds remaining on a layup from Chad Piersol.

Ford hit one free throw with 33 seconds remaining for a 68-65 Widener lead and Tidswell netted two with 17 seconds left for a five-point contest. Michael Schatzmann hit two from the stripe for the Blue Jays with 14 seconds remaining for a three-point game, but senior Brandon Blakey made two with 13 seconds left for a 72-67 contest.

After Schatzmann’s layup with eight seconds to play brought Elizabethtown within 72-69, Tidswell hit twice from the line to ice it. That capped a stretch in which Widener hit 7-of-8 from the line over the final 33 seconds and shot 67 percent (29-of-43) overall from the stripe.

Clarkson, named the conference Player of the Year, shot 7-of-12 from the floor and also grabbed nine rebounds over 38 minutes. He scored 15 points after intermission and Ford, tabbed second team all-conference, netted 14 in that span.

Tidswell scored 12 points off the bench and junior Malcolm Thomas, a second team all-league pick, had 10. Their efforts helped the Pioneers shoot 74 percent (23-of-31) from the line in the second half, during which they committed just four turnovers.

Widener shot 56 percent (10-of-18) from the field after intermission and 53 percent (19-of-36) overall.

Brian Schreiber poured in 22 points and Piersol added 11 for the Blue Jays, who shot 47 percent (25-of-53) from the floor.

Newspaper Box Score
Elizabethtown vs Widener
2/22/06 7:00 pm at Chester, PA
At Chester, PA
WIDENER 74, ELIZABETHTOWN 69
ELIZABETHTOWN (15-10)
Brian Schreiber 8-12 3-4 22; Chad Piersol 6-10 0-0 14; Michael Schatzmann
4-10 2-2 11; Brad Schreiber 2-6 4-4 9; Greg Brizek 2-5 2-3 6; Justin Shade
1-2 1-2 3; Brian Goodwin 1-1 0-0 2; Greg Adams 1-3 0-0 2; Bryce Rodgers 0-0
0-0 0; Rob Fusaro 0-0 0-0 0; Luke Ledyard 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 25-53 12-15 69.
WIDENER (21-4)
Kris Clarkson 7-12 9-13 23; Essien Ford 7-12 4-7 23; Brooke Tidswell 2-2 8-8
12; Malcolm Thomas 3-6 2-3 10; Brandon Blakey 0-1 4-8 4; Ron Michael 0-1 2-4
2; Terry Smith 0-0 0-0 0; Nyere Miller 0-1 0-0 0; Wyatt Haas 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 19-36 29-43 74.
Elizabethtown.................   27   42  -   69
Widener.......................   25   49  -   74
3-point goals-Elizabethtown 7-15 (Brian Schreiber 3-5; Chad Piersol 2-3;
Brad Schreiber 1-1; Michael Schatzmann 1-3; Greg Adams 0-1; Greg Brizek
0-2), Widener 7-13 (Essien Ford 5-7; Malcolm Thomas 2-4; Brandon Blakey 0-1;
Nyere Miller 0-1). Fouled out--Elizabethtown-Brian Schreiber; Brad
Schreiber; Greg Adams, Widener-None. Rebounds-Elizabethtown 24 (Brad
Schreiber 3; Brian Schreiber 3; Justin Shade 3; Michael Schatzmann 3),
Widener 32 (Kris Clarkson 9). Assists-Elizabethtown 10 (Greg Brizek 3),
Widener 7 (Kris Clarkson 3). Total fouls-Elizabethtown 28, Widener 17. A-435
Commonwealth Conference Semifinals
Seeds: Widener #1, Elizabethtown #4