Blue Jays dropped by Widener, 80-69

From the E-town College Website:

Men's basketball dropped by Widener, 80-69

ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, January 17, 2009

Widener 80, Elizabethtown 69

Click here for the box score

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Charles Jones led a balanced Widener University attack with 18 points as the Pride defeated Elizabethtown College 80-69 in Commonwealth Conference men's basketball action at Thompson Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

Matt Sosna chipped in with 15 points and eight rebounds for the Pride (11-4 overall, 2-1 Commonwealth), who shot 52.5 percent (31-for-59) from the field as a team and led by double figures for nearly the entire second half.

Keith Fogel (Mifflinburg, PA/Mifflinburg) paced the Blue Jays (8-8 overall, 2-2 Commonwealth) with 10 points and four steals, the only Elizabethtown player to reach double figures as the Jays shot 40.3 percent (25-for-62) from the field and committed 23 turnovers.

Widener, which never trailed in the game, led 40-31 at halftime as Jones led all players with 12 points. The Pride led 71-51 with 7:01 remaining, but the Blue Jay bench mounted a rally that brought Elizabethtown within nine points in the final minute.

Chris Hill (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) came off the Elizabethtown bench to contribute a season-high nine points along with five rebounds, while Mark Vogel (Landisville, PA/Hempfield) and Kyle McConnell (Lebanon, PA/Cedar Crest) added seven points apiece for the Blue Jays.

From the Widener University Website:

Men's Basketball Back on Winning Track With 80-69 Victory at Elizabethtown

1/17/2009

(boxscore)

Widener used torrid shooting and two big runs to notch its sixth victory in seven outings, an 80-69 Commonwealth Conference triumph at Elizabethtown.

Freshman Perry Wright (Severn, MD) scored four points during a 9-0 run as Widener (11-4, 2-1 CC) opened a 37-24 lead with 2:21 left in the first half. The Pride shot 50 percent (18-of-36) from the field in the half for a 40-31 lead.

The Blue Jays (8-8, 2-2) closed to 42-35 early in the second half, but the Pride netted 10 straight points in just over two minutes for a 52-35 cushion with 16:05 remaining. Senior Matt Sosna (Stratford, NJ) scored five points in that span, capping it with a three-point play.

Senior Charles Jones (Philadelphia, PA) scored 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting for Widener, which shot 57 percent (13-of-23) from the field in the second half and 53 percent (31-of-59) overall.

Sosna had 15 points and eight rebounds with junior Jamarr Johnson (Pittsgrove, NJ) adding 10. Sophomore Jarrell Nelson (Waldorf, MD) and freshman Jack Brennan (Stratford, NJ) scored eight points apiece off the bench.

Widener led by as many as 68-48 with 8:39 remaining and never trailed. It remains tied atop the conference with Arcadia and Albright.

Keith Fogel scored 10 points with Mike Church adding nine and seven rebounds for the Blue Jays, who shot only 40 percent (25-of-62) from the floor and 50 percent (13-of-26) from the line.

Widener is home Tuesday against Arcadia at 8:00 pm. Fans attending the doubleheader with the women’s team are asked to bring a canned good or make a donation to City Team Ministries. It also is our “Gold Rush” on Widener Pride Day, with all from the University in attendance receiving a gold t-shirt.

From The Lancaster Sunday News:

Widener's press stops Blue Jays

Sunday News
Published: Jan 18, 200900:17 EST
Elizabethtown
By MIKE GROSS, Assistant Sports Editor

Maybe part of this had to do with the old Al McGuire adage that a pressing team doesn't like to be pressed.

Elizabethtown College basketball coach Bob Schlosser saw something more insidious in his team's 80-69 loss to Widener Saturday."I thought our starters and upperclassmen were intimidated," Schlosser stated flatly after his team fell to .500 both overall (8-8) and in the Commonwealth Conference (2-2).

That's why Schlosser kept his team in a quiet locker room for a long while afterward. And why the starters watched glumly from the bench as reserves put together a spirited, if hopeless, run from down 20 to as close as 78-69 in the final minute.

"That run was simply about making hustle plays," Schlosser said. "We've got a couple starters who may be getting a little complacent. I've got to put guys in who are going to play with some energy."

Widener (11-4, 2-1) plays the same, up-tempo, 94-foot style Schlosser likes. But the Pride is bigger, quicker and more athletic.

"We know there's gonna be turnovers when we play them, because that's how they play," said Schlosser.

"I didn't think the problem was our offense. The problem was we let them have to many easy ones."

Widener also has a piece the Blue Jays don't in Charles Jones, an all-conference senior guard who can get his own shot and score in a variety of ways. He scored 18 in just 23 minutes.

The Pride controlled this one most of the way, but Jones left with his second foul, on a charge after scoring, with 2:40 left in the first half.

The Jays made a little stand from then to intermission, and Joe Flanagan made a deep three at the halftime buzzer to make it 40-31.

E-town was 3-for-10 from the foul line and had committed 15 turnovers, so the fact that it wasn't buried was small reason for optimism.

The Jays briefly pulled within seven, on Josh Houseal's inside hoop, early in the second half. But Widener kept cranking up the juice.

E-town soon had a stretch of six straight empty possession, and an old-style three-point play by Widener's Matt Sosna (15 points, eight rebounds) pushed the lead to 52-35.

That was about it.

"They're better than we are," Schlosser said, "but I don't think they're 20 points better than we are."

Keith Fogel led E-town with 10 points. Reserve big man Chris Hill added nine in 21 hustling minutes.

The Jays got out-rebounded (if only 40-37), had 23 turnovers, shot just 40 percent from the field and 50 percent from the line (13-of-26).

"We've been inconsistent from the line," Schlosser said. "It's all mental. We work on it and talk about it all the time, but when the lights go on, you've got to make them."

The Jays have only two conference losses and everybody has at least one, with eight games left. They host last-place Lebanon Valley Wednesday.

The situation isn't desperate. Yet.

"You can talk about it all you want, but the bottom line is, what are we gonna do Wednesday?" Schlosser said.

"It's a a league game, and we're at home. Do we have to win? No, but we have to play better."

Mike Gross is assistant sports editor of the Sunday News. E-mail him at mgross@lnpnews.com.