MEN'S BASKETBALL HOSTING RAMADA INN/MONARCH CLASSIC

WILKES-BARRE -- Dan Hodge score a game-high 26 points to lead Lebanon Valley College to a 79-68 victory over host King's College in the first round of the Ramada Inn/Monarch Classic Tuesday in Scandlon Gymnasium.

With the win, Lebanon Valley advances to Wednesday's title game where it will face Hood College in the 7:00 p.m. title pairing. Hood defeated Susquehanna 75-70 in the other opening round contest. King's will play Susquehanna in the 5:00 p.m. consolation game.

Lebanon Valley, which took a 36-31 lead into the half-time break, shot 54.7 (29-53) percent from the field for the game, including a red-hot 59.3 (16-27) percent in the second half.

Hodge made 8-of-12 shots, including 5-of-9 from three-point range while hauling in seven rebounds and dishing out four assists. Kyle Enoch added 17 points while Eric Humphrey came off the bench to contribute 15 points and six rebounds.

John Soboleski led King's with 17 points and six rebounds while Vince Scalzo followed with 13 points and six boards. Jamie Cousart chipped in with 12 points and six rebounds. The Monarchs forced 16 Lebanon Valley turnovers, but were unable to take advantage with poor shooting the entire game. King's made just 42.9 (27-63) percent from the floor, while converting a paltry 47.1 (10-21) percent of its foul shots.


LEBANON VALLEY 79, KING'S COLLEGE 68

LEBANON VALLEY (3-5)
Dan Hodge 8-12 5-7 26; Kyle Enoch 7-13 0-0 17; Eric Humphrey 7-7 1-1 15; Dan
Dunkelberger 3-5 2-2 8; Matt Staub 1-5 3-4 6; Peter Ruth 2-5 1-1 5; Dustin Kerns 1-4 0-0 2; Anthony Trautman 0-0 0-0 0; Zachary Hoover 0-1 0-0 0; James Shinn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-53 12-15 79.

KING'S COLLEGE (4-3)
John Soboleski 6-10 5-10 17; Vince Scalzo 6-10 0-0 13; Jamie Cousart 5-15 2-5 12; Ryan Nenstiel 3-7 0-0 7; Kofi Dwebeng 3-7 0-0 7; Jim Welsh 2-6 0-0 4; Kevin Conroy 1-3 2-3 4; Mike Wagner 1-2 0-0 3; Chris Hacker 0-2 1-3 1; Jim Schule 0-1 0-0 0; Adam Brasky 0-0 0-0 0; Totals 27-63 10-21 68.

Lebanon Valley................ 36 43 - 79
King's College.................. 31 37 - 68

3-point goals--Lebanon Valley 9-21 (Dan Hodge 5-9; Kyle Enoch 3-6; Matt Staub 1-3; Dustin Kerns 0-2; James Shinn 0-1), King's College 4-15 (Vince Scalzo 1-3; Kofi Dwebeng 1-2; Mike Wagner 1-1; Ryan Nenstiel 1-4; Jim Welsh 0-4; Jamie Cousart 0-1). Fouled out--Lebanon Valley-None, King's College-None. Rebounds--Lebanon Valley 36 (Dan Dunkelberger 7; Dan Hodge 7), King's College 32 (Vince Scalzo 6; John Soboleski 6; Jamie Cousart 6). Assists--Lebanon Valley 21 (Dustin Kerns 5), King's College 17 (Vince Scalzo 7). Total fouls--Lebanon Valley 19, King's College 16. Technical fouls--Lebanon Valley-None, King's College-None.




GAME 1 - HOOD 75 - SUSQUEHANNA 70

WILKES-BARRE -- In the first game of the tournament Hood College defeated Susquehanna University 75-70 in the first round of the Ramada Inn/Monarch Classic at King's College Tuesday in Scandlon Gymnasium.

Jesse Gutekunst led Hood with 23 points while Ryan Junghans added 22. Anthony Bennett chipped in with 12.

For Susquehanna, which was playing without leading scorer Josh Robinson, Kevin Cuff led the way with 23 points while Rob Cosgrove added 12. Joel Patch contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds while Andy Gaebel chipped in with 11 points.

King's (4-3) will face Lebanon Valley (3-5) at 8:00 p.m..


HOOD 75, SUSQUEHANNA 70

HOOD (7-3)
Jesse Gutekunst 6-9 11-15 23; Ryan Junghans 6-13 6-6 22; Anthony Bennett 5-8 0-0 12; Mark McGlone 1-1 4-4 7; Mike McCarrick 1-3 0-0 3; Jeff Willison 1-2 0-0 2; Rian McHenry 1-5 0-0 2; Tim Abercrombie 1-6 0-0 2; Arthur Claybon 1-1 0-0 2; Nick Scott 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-49 21-25 75.

SUSQUEHANNA (4-5)
Kevin Cuff 10-16 0-0 23; Rob Cosgrove 6-6 0-0 12; Andy Gaebel 4-12 0-0 11; Joel Patch 5-6 0-0 11; Brad Okonak 3-7 0-0 8; Hunter McKain 1-7 1-2 3; Bryan Majors 1-5 0-0 2; Sean Ulichny 0-2 0-0 0; Kenneth Anwanyu 0-0 0-0 0; Matt McDevitt 0-1 0-0 0; Todd Denapoli 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-62 1-2 70.

Hood................................ 27 48 - 75
Susquehanna.................... 30 40 - 70

3-point goals--Hood 8-17 (Ryan Junghans 4-7; Anthony Bennett 2-3; Mike
McCarrick 1-2; Mark McGlone 1-1; Tim Abercrombie 0-2; Jesse Gutekunst 0-2), Susquehanna 9-26 (Andy Gaebel 3-10; Kevin Cuff 3-6; Brad Okonak 2-6; Joel Patch 1-1; Matt McDevitt 0-1; Bryan Majors 0-1; Hunter McKain 0-1). Fouled out--Hood-None, Susquehanna-None. Rebounds--Hood 23 (Jesse Gutekunst 5; Anthony Bennett 5), Susquehanna 38 (Joel Patch 11). Assists--Hood 8 (Tim Abercrombie 2; Ryan Junghans 2; Mike McCarrick 2), Susquehanna 17 (Bryan Majors 8). Total fouls--Hood 9, Susquehanna 15. Technical fouls--Hood-None, Susquehanna-None. A-75