CHESTER, Pa. – On Saturday afternoon, Messiah men's basketball came up just short in an exciting back-and-forth contest, falling to Widener University on the road by a final score of 83-75. The Falcons cut the Pride's lead to one with five minutes left, but Widener went on a 13-6 run to close out the game and claim the victory.
Widener improves to 8-5 overall and 2-3 in the MAC Commonwealth, while Messiah drops their third-straight game and falls to 7-6 on the year and 2-3 in the conference.
Matt Glogowski led the Falcons with career-highs in both points (20) and rebounds (8). Joining him in double figures in the scoring column were
Colin Sareyka (16),
Neil Murren (14), and
Matt Hess (13).
Josh Darville pulled down 11 boards for his ninth 10-rebound effort in 13 games this season.
For the Pride, stat-sheet stuffer Sardayah Sambo lived up to his billing, posting team-highs of 17 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks. However, it was teammate Ryan McMahon that came as close as possible to a triple-double, recording 10 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists.
Hess and Murren Show
After falling behind early, Messiah went on an 11-3 run midway through the first-half to take their first lead of the game, 24-21, at the 10:52 mark. The run consisted entirely of
Matt Hess and
Neil Murren, starting with a Hess triple followed by back-to-back Murren three-pointers, and finishing with Hess picking Elijah Boyd's pocket near midcourt and racing down for the open layup.
The Falcons' run would grow to 22-6 as the lead extended to 35-25 with just over five minutes to play. In the opening period, Hess led Messiah with 10 points and Murren and
Matt Glogowski recorded nine apiece.
Pride Run Wild
The final five minutes of the first-half belonged to Widener, as the Pride made 8-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line to go on a 20-4 run and take a 45-39 lead into the break. Sam Smith paced the Pride with 12 points in the first half, while Sardayah Sambo filled the stat sheet with 11 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks.
Falcons Claw Back
Messiah went down by eight as Widener scored first in the second-half, but followed with a quick 6-0 run to cut the deficit to just two less than five minutes into the period. With the Pride up by six a few minutes later, Sareyka sparked an 8-2 run with an impressive spinning layup that was followed with three-pointers from Hess and Murren to tie the game at 62 with 9:18 to play.
However, Widener was able to stop the Falcon run and after trading baskets for the next four minutes, the Pride held a one-point lead, 70-69, with five minutes remaining in the game. Messiah then went cold from the field as Widener was able to go on an 8-1 run to gain a 78-70 advantage with 2:32 left.
Too Little, Too Late
The Falcons responded with five-straight points on three Sareyka free-throws and a Glogowski tip-in off a Sareyka miss, but Messiah was unable to score in the remaining 74 seconds as Widener made their free-throws and took the 83-75 victory.
With the defeat, the Falcons have now dropped four-straight road contests to the Pride.
Next Up
Messiah will return home for the first time in a month as they host the University of Valley Forge in a nonconference matchup on Monday, Jan. 8. Tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.