Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Widener tops Jays in overtime Widener 81, Elizabethtown 77 E-town erases 10-point halftime gap, but falls Widener tops Jays in overtime Widener 81, Elizabethtown 77

Despite a buzzer-beating bucket to send the game into overtime, the Blue Jays could not carry the momentum into the extra period.

That, combined with a poor first half and a 6-for-11 performance from the free-throw line after the break, including an 0-for-2 clip in OT, cost them dearly.

The end result was Elizabethtown's 81-77 loss to Widener Wednesday night in Commonwealth Conference action at Thompson Gym.

"I don't know what to say," said Elizabethtown coach Bob Schlosser. "I was very disappointed with our effort in the first half. We fought back in the second half. All season long, for the most part, we've been one half and not two."

The Jays (4-11 CC, 7-15 overall) went the final 4:30 of the first half without scoring and trailed 40-30 at the break.

Joe Renzi ended the drought with a 3-pointer at the 18:08 mark of the second half, but Elizabethtown still found itself in the same 10-point hole with 15:32 to play.

Eventually, the Jays fought back to tie the game, 58-58, when Phil Wenger (Lancaster Catholic) hit his first 3-pointer of the season with 8:05 left.

Joe Schwalm's bucket gave Elizabethtown its final lead, 64-63, with 3:58 left. From there, the Jays went 3:03 without scoring and eventually trailed 70-68 in the closing seconds.

Following a timeout, with 2.4 seconds to go, the Jays inbounded the ball the length of the court to Ben Cable who dished to Will Schlosser (Lancaster Catholic). Schlosser sank an off-balance floater at the buzzer to force overtime.

Schlosser (11 points) was one of four Blue Jay scorers to reach double figures. Andrew Mantz led the way with 15, while Schwalm had 13 and Cable added 10.

In the OT, however, the Jays never led. The game was knotted 74-74 with 2:16 to go, but the Pride (5-10, 6-16) ran off five straight and never lost the lead.

Widener was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the extra period, including a 6-for-6 clip by Greg Lawson.

"Still comes down to making foul shots at times," said Bob Schlosser. "They made theirs down the stretch and we missed some at critical times."

Lawson was 10 for 14 from the line overall and scored a game-high 22 points, while pulling down 21 rebounds. Andrew Radomicki, who drained the go-ahead trey in OT, finished with 14, while Dillon Fields had 13 and Rodney Brown added 12.

The narrow loss was the latest in a growing list for the Jays, who have seen 17 of their 22 games decided by 10 points or less.

"When you get chances to win, you have to find ways to get it done," said Bob Schlosser, who has seen his club post back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since his 1993-94 and 1994-95 teams did it.

"This is really difficult," he added, "but all you can do is keep fighting."

WIDENER (6-16, 5-10 CC)

Lawson 6-8 10-14 22, Radomicki 5-8 1-2 14, Fields 5-18 2-5 13, Brown 2-10 6-7 12, Nicholson 2-4 2-2 8, Makor 0-4 4-4 4, Pryzbylkowski 1-3 0-0 3, Murray 1-1 1-1 3, Dean 1-5 0-0 2, Abel 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-62 26-35 81.

ELIZABETHTOWN (7-15, 4-11 CC)

Mantz 7-12 1-1 15, Schwalm 5-11 1-2 13,Schlosser 4-9 2-2 11, Cable 3-10 2-2 10, Renzi 3-9 0-0 8, Wenger 2-4 1-3 6, Eckert 2-5 1-4 5, Simpkiss 1-4 0-0 3, Bodnar 1-2 0-0 3, Borzager 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 29-67 8-14 77.

Halftime--W, 40-30. 3-point goals--W 9-19 (Radomicki 3-3, Brown 2-6, Nicholson 2-3, Pryzbylkowski 1-3, Fields 1-3, Abel 0-1); Elizabethtown 11-25 (Renzi 2-5, Schwalm 2-4, Cable 2-5, Simpkiss 1-4, Borzager 1-1, Bodnar 1-1, Schlosser 1-4, Wenger 1-1). Fouled out--E, Eckert, Mantz. Rebounds--W 47 (Lawson 21), E 39 (Eckert 8). Assists--W 14 (Fields 3, Makor 3); E 19 (Eckert 4, Wenger 4, Renzi 4). Total fouls--W 17, E 24. A--363.