NOVEMBER 16, 2008
MONARCH BASKETBALL UPSETS 7TH RANKED WIDENER, 80-67
WILKES-BARRE -- A young and inexperienced King's College men¹s basketball team may very well have served notice it might be a team to reckon with as the Monarchs posted an 80-67 victory over nationally-ranked Widener University in the championship game of the Ramada Inn Classic Sunday in Scandlon Gymnasium.
With the win, King's improved to 2-0 in the young season, combining Saturday¹s 74-65 win over New York City Tech in the tournament opener. Two-time defending MAC Commonwealth Conference champion Widener entered the season ranked seventh in NCAA Division III by Small College Hoops and 23rd by D3Hoops.com, but slipped to 1-1 on the year with the loss.
King's, the two-time defending MAC Freedom Conference champion, looked little like a team that graduated nine seniors and lost four starters from the 2007-08 squad. With starting two freshmen and two reserves from last season, the Monarchs played with unexpected poise for much of the game against the experienced Pride.
In the first half the teams went back and forth as the teams were tied 26-26 with 6:14 remaining on the clock. King's would use back-to-back three-pointers by Mike Wagner to build a 32-26 advantage with 3:44 left. After Widener countered with a three-pointer by B.J. Smith, Adam Brasky answered for King's with a trey of his own to give the Monarchs with a 35-29 advantage with 3:03 left.
Widener force back-to back- King's turnovers to would cut the lead to 35-33 at the 1:28 mark on lay-ups by Tracy Jones and Matt Sosna. But King's would answer when Kyle Stackhouse canned a short jumper to push the lead to 37-33 with 1:03 remaining. Widener would force another Monarch turnover and took advantage when Chris McDevitt scored a lay-up with 0:11 left as the Pride cut the lead to 37-35 at the break.
In the second half, the teams again traded buckets before the Pride eventually took a 50-48 lead when Nyere Miller canned a pair of foul shots with 13:53 remaining. The young Monarchs would respond on a traditional three-point play by McGowan and a bucket by sophomore Harry Schlichter to take a 53-50 lead with 12:14 left in the contest.
The Monarchs would build upon the lead and build a 62-53 advantage following an Schlichter inside basket and one-of-two foul shots by Wil Acevedo with 6:33 on the clock. King's would slowly stretch the lead to 75-60 on a pair of foul shots from Jim Schule at 2:06, and then took their biggest lead of the game at 80-64 on a lay-up by Stackhouse.
Schule finished the game with 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists to earn a spot on the all-tournament team. Wagner added a career-high 16 points, hitting on 4-of-6 shots from three-point range. McGowan, who was named the tournament most valuable player, fell just short of a second double-double in as many days, finishing the game with 10 points and eight rebounds. Stackhouse contributed nine points while Schlichter added career-high eight points with four rebounds. Brasky and Nick Reisig chipped in with seven points each.
Widener was led by all-tournament selection Charles Jones with 18 points and seven assists. Miller followed with 12 points and four steals. Smith tallied nine points and three rebounds while Sosna, who was also named all-tournament, added seven points and three rebounds.
KING'S 80, WIDENER 67
WIDENER (1-1)
Charles Jones 6-14 5-8 18; Nyere Miller 4-11 1-2 12; BJ Smith 3-6 2-4 9; Matt Sosna 3-4 1-2 7; Jack Brennan 3-5 0-0 6; Tracy Jones 2-5 1-2 5; Jarrell Nelson 1-1 2-2 4; Aaquil Atkins 1-4 0-0 2; Jamarr Johnson 0-3 2-2 2; Chris McDevitt 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 24-56 14-22 67.
KING'S (2-0)
Widener........................ 35 32 - 67
King's........................... 37 43 - 80
3-point goals--Widener 5-20 (Nyere Miller 3-8; BJ Smith 1-4; Charles Jones 1-4; Tracy Jones 0-1; Chris McDevitt 0-2; Matt Sosna 0-1), King's 6-16 (Mike Wagner 4-6; Nick Reisig 1-4; Adam Brasky 1-1; Wil Acevedo 0-2; Chase McGowan 0-1; Jim Schule 0-2). Fouled out--Widener-Matt Sosna, King's-None. Rebounds--Widener 28 (Jack Brennan 4; Tracy Jones 4), King's 37 (Chase McGowan 8). Assists--Widener 13 (Charles Jones 7), King's 15 (Jim Schule 3; Nick Reisig 3).
Total fouls--Widener 18, King's 17. Technical fouls--Widener-None, King's-None. A-275
