FEBRUARY 13, 2010
KING'S MEN DROP HEARTBREAKER IN TRIPLE-OVERTIME THRILLER TO DESALES, 92-89
WILKES-BARRE -- There are numerous adjectives that would apply to the King's-DeSales men's basketball game Saturday in Scandlon Gymnasium. Thrilling and dramatic would be two such words that fit. Unfortunately for the Monarchs, the word that best describes the outcome is heartbreaking.
Darnell Braswell hit game-tying three-pointers at the end of regulation and the first overtime to keep DeSales alive and King's failed to capitalize on numerous chances to put the game away as the Bulldogs eventually pulled out an unlikely 92-89 victory in triple overtime.
The game had major implications in the Freedom Conference standings as DeSales improved to 18-5 overall and 11-1 in league play. King's, meanwhile slipped to 11-12 and 7-5 in conference games. The loss also moved King's out of second place and into a third-place tie with Misericordia as both teams trail Eastern (7-4 Freedom) by a half-game in the standings.
An evenly played first half found DeSales taking a slim 28-26 lead into the break, but in no way foreshadowed what was to come.
In the second half the Monarchs found their groove and slowly pulled away. Leading 60-54 with 3:34 to play, the Monarchs used a 4-0 spurt that appeared to put the game away. A three-pointer by Mike Wagner and one-of-two foul shots from Kevin Conroy gave King's a 64-54 advantage with 2:38 to play.
DeSales used two foul shots from Brian Hunter and a three-pointer by Braswell to cut the lead to 64-59 with 1:59 to play. The Monarchs used a pair of charity tosses from Dan Maguschak to stretch the lead 66-59 with 1:30 on the clock. Braswell, however, answered with another three-pointer to bring the Bulldogs to within 66-62 with 1:18 remaining.
King's, though, would miss out on golden opportunities to put the Bulldogs away. On the Monarchs next possession, Kyle Stackhouse was fouled with 1:03 to play and made one-of-two foul shots for a 67-62 Monarch lead. After a DeSales turnover, Stackhouse again made one-of-two free throws to give King's a 68-62 advantage with 0:55 on the clock. The two missed foul shots would come back to haunt the Monarchs as it kept the game at a two-possession affair..
DeSales responded with a big three-pointer from Rob Schubach to cut the lead to 68-65 with 0:44 to play. After a King's miss, Braswell tied the game with another critical trey to knot the score at 68-68. King's had one last chance but Stackhouse's shot at the buzzer rattled off the rim as the teams entered overtime.
King's struck first on a jumper by Jim Schule but Braswell nailed yet another three-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 71-70 lead. The Monarchs took a 72-71 lead when Kevin Conroy made two foul shots. After a DeSales miss, Wagner was fouled and converted both attempts for a 74-71 Monarch lead with 1:19 to play. After a DeSales bucket, Schule was fouled and made one-of-two shots to push the Monarch advantage to 75-73 with 0:46 on the clock. Once again, however, the missed free throw would come into play. After a Braswell miss, Stackhouse was fouled and made good on both shots to give King's a 77-73 lead with 0:28 remaining.
The Monarchs, however, committed an unnecessary foul just 0:05 later and Brian Hunter went to the line and made one-of-two shots to cut the King's lead to 77-74 with 0:23 to play.
With DeSales applying full-court pressure, the Monarchs turned the ball over with 0:16 left and Braswell missed a three-pointer seconds later. Bulldog teammate Matt Zwetolitz snared the offensive rebound and kicked the ball back out to a wide-open Braswell who drained yet another huge three-pointer to tie the game at 77-77 with 0:07 left. King's again had a chance for the game-winning shot but Stackhouse's short, off-balance jumper was blocked by Hunter to send the game into a second overtime.
King's quickly jumped out to a 81-77 lead at the 3:03 mark when Conroy and Schule made two foul shots apiece. DeSales came back and tied the score at 83-83 on driving baskets by Hunter and Braswell with 0:50 to play. The Monarchs looked to go ahead with 0:14 to play but a Maguschak jumper was off the mark. DeSales would try to put an end to the game but a Braswell jumper caromed off the rim. Stackhouse launched a full length-of the-court shot just after the buzzer sounded and the ball remarkably found its way into the basket but was correctly waived-off by officials.
In the third overtime, DeSales got on the board first as Braswell connect on two foul shots but King's took a 86-85 lead on a three-pointer from Wagner with 4:09 remaining. The Bulldogs responded with a Braswell jumper and one-of-two foul shots from Hunter to extend the lead to 88-86 with 3:00 left. After Maguschak missed a three-pointer, Braswell sank another jumper, lifting DeSales to a 90-86 advantage at 0:56. King's used a traditional three-point play from Schule to close to within 90-89 with 0:35 remaining, but Schurbach was fouled with 0:11 on the clock and made good on both free throws to up the Bulldog lead to 92-89.
After a King's timeout at mid-court, Nick Reisig attempted an off-balanced three-pointer at the buzzer but the shot fell well short after being partially blocked by Braswell with 0:01 to go.
Braswell wrapped up an epic performance with 41 points of 15-of-28 shooting, including five three-pointers, 13 rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Hunter followed with 15 points while Schubach added 12. Zwetolitz contributed eight points and 12 rebounds to pace the Bulldog attack.
King's was led by Conroy with 18 points and nine rebounds while Schule followed with 16 points and seven boards. Maguschak and Wagner added 14 points each while Stackhouse tallied 12 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
The Monarchs return to action Tuesday with a critical road game at Misericordia, slated for 8:00 p.m. in the Anderson Center.
DESALES UNIVERSITY 92, KING'S COLLEGE 89 (OT-3)
DESALES UNIVERSITY (18-5/11-1 Freedm)
Darnell Braswell 15-28 6-10 41; Brian Hunter 4-8 7-13 15; Rob Schubach 2-6 6-6 12; Matt Zwetolitz 3-8 2-2 8; Brett Moyer 2-4 1-2 5; Bob Zanneo 2-4 0-0 5; Jamey Bercier 1-2 0-0 2; Sean McPaul 1-1 0-0 2; Jim Malatesta 1-8 0-0 2; Craig Ryan 0-0 0-0 0; Charles Princiotto 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-69 22-33 92.
KING'S COLLEGE (11-12/7-5 Freedm)
Kevin Conroy 5-13 8-10 18; Jim Schule 6-15 4-7 16; Dan Maguschak 5-8 3-4 14; Mike Wagner 4-11 3-3 14; Kyle Stackhouse 4-12 4-6 12; Matt Fiorino 3-5 0-0 9; Adam Brasky 2-3 0-0 4; Mike McCready 0-5 2-2 2; Nick Reisig 0-4 0-2 0; Wil Acevedo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-76 24-34 89.
DeSales University............ 28 40 9 6 9 - 92
King's College.................... 26 42 9 6 6 - 89
3-point goals--DeSales University 8-23 (Darnell Braswell 5-11; Rob Schubach 2-4; Bob Zanneo 1-3; Jim Malatesta 0-1; Matt Zwetolitz 0-3; Brian Hunter 0-1), King's College 7-20 (Mike Wagner 3-9; Matt Fiorino 3-4; Dan Maguschak 1-3; Nick Reisig 0-4). Fouled out--DeSales University-Brett Moyer, King's College-Adam Brasky. Rebounds--DeSales University 52 (Darnell Braswell 13), King's College 46 (Kevin Conroy 9). Assists--DeSales University 13 (Matt Zwetolitz 4), King's College 23 (Matt Fiorino 4; Kyle Stackhouse 4). Total fouls--DeSales University 26, King's College 26. Technical fouls—DeSales University-None, King's College-None. A-875
