LATE RUNS PROPEL DESALES OVER MONARCH CAGERS, 81-77
WILKES-BARRE – Two decisive runs, a 12-0 spurt midway through the second half and a 10-0 run late lifted visiting DeSales University to an important 81-77 win at King's College Saturday afternoon in Scandlon Gymnasium.
Following the loss King's drops to 9-7 overall and 3-4 in conference play. DeSales moves to 12-5 overall and 4-3 in league contests.
The Monarchs came out of the gates on fire hitting their first six shots. Freshman guard Kyle Hammonds connected on two three-pointers, and senior forward Kevin Conroy added four buckets as King's took an early 14-5 lead with 16:54 on the clock. The lead grew to 27-15 following a Chris Hobson jumper in the paint with 9:17 left in the half. From there DeSales used a 15-3 run over the next seven minutes of the first frame to tie the game at 30 with 3:54 remaining. A trey from junior guard Nick Reisig followed by five straight points by sophomore guard Matt Fiorino gave King's a 41-35 advantage heading into the break.
The Monarchs didn't miss much from the floor in the first half, shooting 59.3 percent (16-27) and a blistering 69.2 percent (9-13) from behind the arc. Hammonds finished with 15 points on five treys through the first twenty minutes of play.
King's continued their hot shooting in the second stanza opening up a 58-42 lead following another Fiorino three-pointer. The Monarchs took their largest lead of the game, 64-45, as sophomore forward Ian Oakley made an off-balance shot in the lane at the 11:43 mark.
The two-time defending champion Bulldogs didn't go away though and used a 12-0 run over the next three minutes to cut the deficit to a manageable seven points, 64-57 with 7:47 remaining. Another quick run, this time 10-0 over two minutes of play, completed the comeback giving DeSales their first lead of the contest at 71-69.
With the Bulldogs leading by three and 1:30 on the clock, King's went inside to Conroy and the big man delivered with an old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game at 75. The Bulldogs pushed the ball back up the floor on their next possession where Brian Hunter found Mike Coleman on the wing for an open shot. Coleman buried the three-pointer to put the Bulldogs up 78-75 with :42 seconds remaining. Conroy would hit inside on King's next possession to cut the lead to 78-77 with :26 left. King's chose to foul on the pursuing DeSales possession putting Matt Poorman to the line shooting two. Poorman made one of two free throws and the Monarchs had one last chance for redemption down two. The ball went inside to Conroy and the senior turned to the middle of the lane putting up an off-balance shot that would fall short. DeSales corralled the rebound and made two free throws with :3 left to seal the important road victory.
Conroy, who was plagued with foul trouble throughout, finished with a game-high 24 points and five rebounds. Hammonds enjoyed a solid effort, but cooled down in the second half, posting 20 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes. Fiorino added 11 points and two assists. After drilling nine treys in the first half, the Monarchs went cold from the perimeter in the second frame, shooting only 25.0 percent (3-12) from long range.
Hunter led a balanced attack for DeSales finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Coleman, who delivered the biggest shot of the contest, posted 15 points and four rebounds. Brett Moyer added 12 points and six rebounds, while Brian Kerwin and Bob Zanneo each contributed 10 points.
King's will break from its Freedom schedule Monday to welcome Penn State Wilkes-Barre for a non-league matchup at 7:00 p.m. in Scandlon Gymnasium.
DESALES UNIVERSITY 81, KING'S COLLEGE 77
DESALES UNIVERSITY (12-5,4-3 Freedom)
Brian Hunter 7-15 2-2 19; Mike Coleman 5-10 4-4 15; Brett Moyer 3-7 6-7 12;Bob Zanneo 4-7 0-0 10; Brian Kerwin 4-7 0-0 10; Matt Poorman 1-2 5-6 7; Greg Peters 2-3 0-0 4; Tom Marshall 1-2 0-0 2; Jamey Bercier 0-1 2-2 2; Paul Pammer 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 27-58 19-21 81.
KING'S COLLEGE (9-7, 3-4 Freedom)
Kevin Conroy 9-14 6-7 24; Kyle Hammonds 7-14 1-2 20; Matt Fiorino 4-9 0-0 11; Nick Reisig 2-6 0-1 6; Joe Caffrey 2-2 0-0 5; Kyle Stackhouse 2-6 0-0 4; Adam Brasky 1-1 0-0 3; Ian Oakley 1-2 0-0 2; Chris Hobson 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 29-58 7-10 77.
DeSales University............ 35 46 - 81
King's College................ 41 36 - 77
3-point goals--DeSales University 8-22 (Brian Hunter 3-7; Bob Zanneo 2-4; Brian Kerwin 2-5; Mike Coleman 1-2; Tom Marshall 0-1; Paul Pammer 0-2; Greg Peters 0-1), King's College 12-25 (Kyle Hammonds 5-9; Matt Fiorino 3-7; Nick Reisig 2-6; Adam Brasky 1-1; Joe Caffrey 1-1; Ian Oakley 0-1). Fouled out--DeSales University-Brett Moyer, King's College-None. Rebounds—DeSales University 34 (Brian Hunter 8), King's College 30 (Kyle Stackhouse 7; Kyle Hammonds 7).Assists--DeSales University 14 (Brian Hunter 7), King's College 21 (Nick Reisig 6; Kyle Stackhouse 6). Total fouls--DeSales University 13, King's College 18. Technical fouls--DeSales University-None, King's College-None. A-535
