GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah men's basketball team was bested by visiting Widener University, 82-73, on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena on Monday night. Despite the defeat,
Arkese Claiborne recorded a game-high 23 points, connecting on 4-of-6 shots from beyond the arc. Glogowski contributed 12 points as
Will Young IV reeled in a team-high seven rebounds.
Glogowski scored the Falcons' first five points of the contest, converting buckets on back-to-back possessions, highlighted by a three-pointer at the 18:37 mark to give Messiah an early 5-2 edge.
Caleb Light increased that advantage to a five-point margin (7-2), notching a driving layup. The Pride answered promptly, cashing triples in consecutive offensive trips to regain an 8-7 lead.
Widener opened up a firm advantage over Messiah, riding a dominant 20-0 scoring run that lasted for 5:42. During the scoring spurt, the Pride converted 7-of-8 field goal attempts. A three-pointer from
Tyler Penley halted the scoring run, cutting the Falcons' deficit to 12 points (22-10) with 11:47 remaining in the half. Two possessions later, Penley connected again from beyond the arc, making the score 24-13.
The Falcons, sparked by a made jumper from Claiborne at the 9:32 mark, went on a quick 8-0 scoring run. The run only lasted a total of 1:17 of gameplay, but it brought Messiah back within a three-point deficit (24-21) highlighted by an and-one opportunity from
Will Young IV.
The two sides battled it out in the final seven minutes of the half with each team scoring 17 points. Claiborne had a phenomenal end to the half, scoring eight of his 11 first-half points. The Falcons shot 3-of-5 from beyond the arc in those final seven minutes, trimming their deficit down to 41-38 at the half.
Messiah shot 50% (14-28) from the field in the opening half, including 6-of-12 from beyond the arc. Claiborne had a team-leading 11 points, as Glogowski (seven points) and Penley (six points) each made notable offensive contributions. Messiah trailed by as many as 15 points, but rallied back to make it just a one-possession contest heading into the second half.
The opening three minutes of the second half was high-scoring with each side netting nine points. Glogowksi contributed five points, highlighted by a three pointer assisted by Light. Claiborne continued to pour it on for the Falcons, cashing a turnaround jumper at the 16:04 mark to cut the deficit to just one point (50-49). The Pride scored five-straight points to build a six-point advantage, before a driving layup from
Christian Reames and a triple from
Evan Parker brought Messiah right back, trailing 55-54. Parker's three-pointer was his second of the game.
Widener went on a 9-0 scoring run during the 12:18-8:43 span, prompting a Messiah timeout. With 8:41 left in the game, the Pride led, 64-54. Following the timeout, Claiborne drained a triple, the sophomore guard's 18th point. Claiborne's three sparked a scoring spurt for the Falcons that lasted 1:57, featuring an electrifying dunk from
Jack Ramsey and a three-pointer from Light. Once again, Messiah trailed by just one possession (64-62) with 6:14 left on the clock.
Trailing by two points at the 4:53 mark, Penley had a chance to level the score, but instead converted just one of his two free throw attempts, making the score 66-65. The Pride proceeded to go on a 10-2 scoring run throughout the next two minutes of gameplay, separating themselves from Messiah. The Falcons trailed by nine points (76-67) with only 2:55 remaining.
With a new hole to climb out of, the Falcons were not able to recover. Despite trailing by 15 points with less than a minute remaining, Parker and Claiborne each connected for three-pointers on consecutive possessions to trim the deficit to nine points (82-73). Messiah was unable to close the gap further, dropping the contest by a score of 82-73.
The defeat drops Messiah's 2021-22 record to 4-8 (3-4 MAC Commonwealth).
What's Next
The Falcons travel to Frederick, Md., this Wednesday (Jan.19) to take on the conference foe Hood College. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m.