Blue Jays to travel to Widener for Commonwealth title

From the E-town College Website:

2/26/2009

Men's basketball to travel to Widener for Commonwealth title

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 26, 2009

Elizabethtown and Widener to Meet in Commonwealth Finals

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- The Elizabethtown College men's basketball team will travel to Widener University for the Commonwealth Conference championship on Saturday afternoon beginning at 3:00 p.m.

The Blue Jays (14-11 overall), seeded third in the four-team tournament, advanced to the finals with a 68-64 victory at Albright College on Wednesday night, while the top-seeded Pride (21-5 overall) defeated Messiah College 76-61 in the other semifinal contest.

Admission to Saturday's game at the Schwartz Center is $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and $2 for students, with children under six admitted free of charge. The winner will receive an automatic bid to next week's NCAA Division III tournament.

Saturday's game will be played exactly five years to the day of Elizabethtown's last appearance in the championship game, a 61-54 victory at Widener on Feb. 28, 2004 that gave the Blue Jays their third straight conference title.

In addition to the Commonwealth Conference titles in 2002, 2003 and 2004, Elizabethtown won Middle Atlantic Conference championships in 1964 and 1979. Widener will be seeking its third consecutive conference crown and 15th overall conference championship in program history.

The teams have met four times in the Commonwealth Conference playoffs since 2001, with Elizabethtown winning in the 2002 and 2004 finals and Widener winning in the 2001 finals and 2006 semifinals. All but the 2002 championship game were played at Widener.

Widener, which went 10-2 in the Commonwealth Conference during the regular season, swept the season series from Elizabethtown, which went 7-5 in conference play. The Pride won 80-69 at Thompson Gymnasium on Jan. 17 and held on for a 66-62 victory at the Schwartz Center on Feb. 7.

Sophomore swingman Joe Flanagan (Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) leads the Blue Jays in scoring at 14.6 points per game and has connected on a team-high 52 three-pointers.

Junior center Mike Church (Peach Bottom, PA/Solanco) has added 12.7 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game, while sophomore guard Keith Fogel (Mifflinburg, PA/Mifflinburg) is averaging 12.5 points per game with 38 three-pointers and a team-high 53 steals.

Leading the Pride is senior guard Charles Jones, who leads the Commonwealth Conference in scoring at 17.4 points per game to go with a team-high 78 assists. Senior forward Matt Sosna is second on the team in scoring at 14.2 points per game and leads the team with 6.8 rebounds per game. He is shooting 61.1 percent from the field (138-for-226) to lead the conference, with junior forward Jamarr Johnson ranking second at 56.9 percent (82-for-144).