MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - Carroll men's basketball concluded the 2024 Cruzin' Classic, hosted by Trip Sports Inc. On Saturday afternoon, leaving sunny Florida with a 2-0 record after defeating Widener College 78-75. The victory is the first in streak of the season for the Pioneers and marks the fourth time Carroll has surpassed 75 points in a game.There were 3 ties and five lead changes throughout the contest. Carroll (4-7, 0-0 CCIW) doubled up Widener (2-8, 0-0 MAC Commonwealth) on the offensive glass 12-6. The games' leading scorer was Pride redshirt senior Matt Daulerio, who tallied 24 points in 33 minutes. Carroll was led in scoring by senior Aaron Wafford, who saw his first significant playing time since the middle of the 2023-24 season after returning from injury. The sharpshooter poured in 20 points in 18 minutes and shot 6-11 from beyond the arc. Wafford was joined by three other Pioneers in double figures. Fellow seniors Kobe Simpson and Eckahelo Simpson contributed 17 and 11 points respectively, while junior center had a strong showing with 11 points and nine rebounds.
The Pioneers took an eight-point lead into halftime after a long-awaited strong shooting half where Carroll drained five three pointers from four different players.
Widener came out of the break with a new level of aggression as they outscored Carroll 18-12 through the first 10 minutes to pull within one possession. Carroll weathered the storm and pushed the lead back to six, but Widener wouldn't go away. Six minutes later, Widener took their first lead since the 11:06 mark in the first half, 64-63. However, Carroll responded right back with seven consecutive points to push the game back to 6. The Pride made a late push to pull within a possession, but two late threes from Wafford stifled any Widener hopes at a comeback and the final buzzer sounded with the score 78-75 in Carroll's favor, sending Carroll into the holiday break with two consecutive wins.
Carroll will return to action after the holidays, where they hit the road to take on Beloit College in their final non-conference game of the regular season. Tip-off will be at 2 p.m.
