GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Widener Pride overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to earn a 73-68 victory over the Messiah men's basketball team on Saturday night. The Falcons held the Pride to a 9-35 effort from the floor in the opening half, but the Pride shot the lights out in the second half, finding the bottom of the cup at a 59.3% clip.
 
In total, the Pride outscored Messiah 46-30 over the final 20 minutes of the contest.
 
Messiah was led by Evan Parker and Arkese Claiborne for combined for 46 points on the night. Parker finished the contest with 26 points while Claiborne went for 20.
 
The setback drops the Falcons to 8-10 on the season and 3-6 in the conference. Messiah will be back in action when they travel to York on Wednesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. against the Spartans.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons opened up an 11-point halftime lead thanks, in part, to the early scoring from Evan Parker. In the first 3:30, Parker accounted for the first seven Messiah points with a step-back jumper, an and-one layup, and a pull-up from the free-throw line. The result was a 7-2 Falcons' lead.
 
Widener ripped off a quick 6-0 run to take an 8-7 lead, but Messiah took the lead back with a pair of Tyler Penley free throws that made it 9-8. From there, the Falcons held at least a share of the lead for the remainder of the half. They grew their first-half lead to as many as 13 points later in the period at 33-20, following free throws from Bryce Coletti.
 
Messiah's early lead was certainly helped by the poor shooting effort from the Pride in the opening half. Widener went 9-35 from the field in the first 20 minutes, including a 1-14 mark from beyond the arc. The first half was also marred by fouls with the two teams combing for 26 in the first half. When the dust settled from an eventful opening half, Messiah held a 38-27 advantage.
 
Everything changed coming out of the half.
 
Widener looked like a different team in the second half, going on a 17-3 run in the first six minutes of the period to take the lead at 44-41. The run including a 7-9 Widener effort from the field. On the Falcons end of the floor the bucket had a lid on it. Evan Parker connected on an and-one finish early in the half, but that was it for Messiah's offense in the first six minutes.
 
Throughout the second half, the momentum stayed with the Pride. With just over five minutes remaining in the half, Widener had increased their lead to 12 points, their largest of the night, at 65-53.
 
Messiah began chipping away in the final five minutes with a 10-3 run, fueled by threes from Parker and Claiborne. The run pulled Messiah within five in the final minute, but Widener held on with free throws down the stretch to earn the 73-68 victory.
 
What's Up Next
With the loss, Messiah drops their fourth-straight and moves to 8-10 on the season. The Falcons fall to 3-6 in the conference and will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to York to take on the Spartans at 6:00 p.m.