FEBRUARY 23, 2010
KING'S MEN SET TO FACE DESALES IN FREEDOM CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS
CENTER VALLEY -- The King's College men's basketball team will be hoping the old adage “the third time is the charm” rings true when the Monarchs open up the 2010 Freedom Conference Tournament Wednesday in Center Valley against defending champion DeSales University. The third meeting between the teams this season is set to tip-off at 8:00 p.m. in Billera Hall.
Ticket prices have been set by the Middle Atlantic Conferences office at $6 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $2 for students while children under age six shall be admitted free.
WRKC 88.5 FM will broadcast both games over the Internet. Click on the WRKC LIVE link at the following link:
http://www.kings.edu/IITS/index.htm
Fans will also be able to follow the game on LiveStats at the following link:
http://www2.sidearmstats.com/desales/mbball/
PNGSports will also do a radio broadcast for DeSales at the following link:
http://www.live365.com/stations/dsubulldogs?site=pro
Directions to DeSalews can be found at:
http://athletics.desales.edu/sports/2004/8/27/Directions.aspx?tab=directions
King's enters the Freedom Conference Tournament as the fourth-seed after concluding the regular-season with a 12-13 overall and a 8-6 league record after posting a solid 77-56 road victory over cross-town rival Wilkes in the team's regular-season finale on Saturday. DeSales, which won the Freedom Conference champions and reached the 2009 NCAA Division III National Tournament Elite-Eight enters the game with an 20-5 overall went 13-1 in league games after routing FDU-Florham 73-46 on Saturday for its sixth win in row entering the post-season.
The teams met twice during the regular-season with both games being highly-competitive affairs. The Bulldogs on the first game 66-55 in a game DeSales led 52-51 with just over three minutes left. The second contest ranks as a classic as DeSales rallied from a 64-54 deficit with 2:38 to play to send the game into overtime. The Bulldogs eventually secured a 92-89 triple-overtime triumph in a game that ranks among the finest in MAC history.
The Monarchs have been led by the play of junior center Kevin Conroy who tops the squad 14.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per-game. Senior guard Mike Wagner follows with 10.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists while shooting 44.1 (63-143) percent from three-point range. Sophomore point-guard Kyle Stackhouse posts 9.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Senior forward Jim Schule adds 8.4 points and 4.9 rebounds. Freshman guard-forward Dan Maguschak has stepped up his game the past two weeks of the season and averages 6.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 12 assists and eight steals. Over the past four games, Maguschak has averaged 13.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per-game. Sophomore guard-forward Nick Reisig chips in with 5.2 points and 3.5 rebounds with 28 three-pointers.
DeSales is led by returning all-American senior guard Darnell Braswell, who tops the squad with 20.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists with 52 three-pointers. Braswell scored a school-record 41 points in the Bulldogs triple-overtime win over the Monarchs two weeks ago. Junior guard Brian Hunter follows with 10.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists with 32 treys. Senior guard Rob Schubach adds 7.8 points with 52 three-pointers while sophomore forward Bob Zanneo contributes 6.8 points with 4- three-pointers. Senior guard Jim Malatesta chips in with 6.6 points and 3.5 rebounds while senior forward Matt Zwetolitz tallies 5.5 points and 4.1 boards.
The winner of the King's-DeSales matchup will face the survivor of the other semi-final pairing between second seeded Eastern University (13-12/9-5 Freedom) and third-seeded Misericordia University (15-10/9-5) in the Freedom Conference championship game. The title pairing will take place Saturday at a time to be announced at the site of the highest remaining seed. King's, as the fourth seed, will not have any opportunity to host should the Monarchs upset DeSales.
King's Game Notes:
· This is King's ninth Freedom Conference Tournament berth in the the past 10 years and the eighth in nine years under head coach J.P. Andrejko. The Monarchs missed out on the post-season in 2009 for the first time in Andrejko's career at King's.
· The Monarchs won Freedom Conference titles in 2005, 2007 and 2008, defeating DeSales each time in the title game. King's is 3-0 all-time against DeSales in Freedom Conference tournament games, each coming in the finals.
· King's is 2-0 in post-season games in Billera Hall, winning championship contests in Center Valley in 2005 and 2008.
· King's also won the inaugural Freedom League championship in 1994. The Monarchs were also second in the 2002 Freedom Conference Tournament.
· King's has lost three of the last four games to DeSales.
· Junior center Kevin Conroy is a returning All-Freedom Conference first-team selections and is the only starter left over from King's 2008 Freedom Conference title squad. Conroy has 926 points in three seasons at King's.
· Senior guard Mike Wagner has 113 three-pointers in three varsity seasons. His 63 three-pointers this season is tied for seventh all-time in King's history.
