(box score)
Widener once again was involved in a thrilling game, only this time the other team was on right side of a buzzer beater.
Despite rallying to level the contest, Widener gave up a jumper by Thomas Guerin at the buzzer for a tough 67-65 loss to Brooklyn College at Schwartz Center.
Guerin’s layup with 1:57 left gave the Bulldogs a 65-61 lead. Following a series of empty possessions, sophomore Jack Brennan (Stratford, NJ) nailed two free throws with 1:03 remaining to bring the Pride within 65-63.
Brooklyn’s Rich Jean-Baptiste had the ball stripped by sophomore BJ Smith (Baltimore, MD) and Widener looked for the tie. Smith, whose 3-pointer Saturday at the buzzer lifted the Pride past Lebanon Valley, looked to be the hero again but had his short jumper blocked by Darnell Cudjoe.
However, Brennan was there for the offensive rebound and hit a layup with 27 seconds to play for a tie game.
The Bulldogs (10-5) had no timeouts and looked for the last shot. Tyshawn Russell dribbled at the top of the key and found Guerin, who canned an 18-footer from the left wing.
It capped another crazy game in which Widener has suffered losses in overtime and double overtime this month.
Junior Jarrell Nelson (Waldorf, MD) had 14 points and seven rebounds with Brennan adding 10 and seven for the Pride (9-7). Sophomore Onyi Ezeala (Piscataway, NJ) and freshman Derrick Williams (Vineland, NJ) scored 10 points apiece.
Jean-Baptiste poured in 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting for the Bulldogs, who shot 50 percent from the field in each half that included 27-of-54 for the game. Guerin closed with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Widener on Wednesday hosts Alvernia at 8:00 pm. The doubleheader that begins at 6:00 pm is part of the school’s “Royal Rally” with the first 900 fans in attendance receiving a “Royal Rally” t-shirt and all fans are eligible to compete in a halftime free throw contest to win an iPod.