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MARCH 8, 2008

KING'S MEN DROP OVERTIME HEARTBREAKER TO PLATTSBURGH, 83-77

PLATTSBURGH, NY -- Host Plattsburgh State, the seventh-ranked team in the country, outscored visiting King's College 14-8 in overtime to post a 83-77 victory in the second round of the NCAA Division III National Tournament Saturday in Plattsburgh, NY.

With the win, Plattsburgh improved its record to 27-2 with its 21st straight victory and advances to next weekend's "Sweet 16". King's, which saw its 10-game win streak come to an end, concluded its season at 20-9.

The game was an evenly played contest throughout, as the teams battled to a 12-12 tie with 13:36 left in the first half. The Monarchs would use a 7-1 surge thanks to a lay-up by Jamie Cousart, a bucket down low by John Soboleski, and a three-pointer from Kofi Dwebeng to take a 19-13 lead with 8:44 on the clock.

Soboleski would later give King's a 27-21 advantage with another basket down low. After Khylan Hunt hit a three-pointer for Plattsburgh to cut the lead to 27-24, the Monarchs used four points from Soboleski and a dunk by Ryan Nenstiel to build a 33-24 lead with 0:29 left in the half. An Antwane Miller lay-up at 0:05 would bring Plattsburgh to within 33-26 at the break.

In the second half the Cardinals used a critical 10-3 surge out of the gates to tie the score at 36-36 on a pair of foul shots by Ricky Rider. Plattsburgh would eventually take a 50-46 lead on a three-pointer by Anthony Williams, but a three-pointer by Dwebeng and two foul shots from Soboleski tied the game up for the eighth time at 50-50 with 9:19 remaining.

With King's trailing 65-63, John Soboleski would convert a traditional three-point play to put the Monarchs on top 66-65 with 0:34 left in the contest. Plattsburgh, however would recapture the lead at 67-66 on a riving lay-up by Travis Gorham.

After Jamie Cousart missed a three-pointer with 0:25 left, the Monarchs fouled Williams, who made both free throws to put the Cardinals on top 69-6 with 0:19 remaining.

From there, Soboleski kicked out a pass to Vince Scalzo, who tied the game up with a clutch three-pointer with 0:10 left. Plattsburgh would have a chance to win the game at the buzzer but Nenstiel blocked a lay-up attempt by Gorham to keep the Monarchs' hopes alive.

In overtime, buckets by Gorham and Travis Ruiz put the Cardinals ahead 73-70 with 4:01 left. After a King;s miss, Ruiz would score again to give Plattsburgh a 75-70 lead. Dwebeng would nail a three-pointer for KIng's to cut the lead to 75-70 with 3:45 remaining, but Ruiz countered with a shirt jumoer to push the score to 77-73 with 2;36 on the clock.

Soboleski would score down low for King's to bring the Monarchs to within 77-75 with 2:06 left, but Gorham would again score on a driving lay-up to give the Cardinals a 79-75 lead with 1:36 remaining. Soboleski would again answer with an inside basket to draw the Monarchs within 79-77 with 1:25 on the clock.

A costly series of events would then hurt King's when the Cardinals missed a shot with 1:04 left, but the ball went out of bounds off a Monarch player, giving Plattsburgh the ball. Williams would again miss, but secured his own rebound to take more precious time off the clock.

After Williams would miss yet again, Soboleski rebounded, but the Monarchs were whistled for an offensive foul with 0:24 on the clock. Miller would make one-of-two foul shots to give Plattsburgh an 80-77 lead with 0:20 remaining. With an opportunity to the the game, King's committed another costly turnover on a steal by Errol Daniyan who would dish to Williams for a lay-up and a 82-77 lead with with 0:10 left.

King's would foul with 0:01 on the clock and Gorham made one-of-two attempts to close out the scoring.

Williams, a Division III National Player of the Year finalist and returning all-American, posted a team-high 22 points and six rebounds. Gorham followed with 16 points and 17 rebounds while Miller added 16 points and 11 boards. The Cardinals held a decisive 48-27 rebounding advantage

King's was paced by Soboleski who scored a career-high 30 points with eight rebounds in his final game. Cousart and Dwebeng added 12 points each while Scalzo chipped in with 10.

With the loss King's also says goodbye to an outstanding senior class of Cousart, Soboleski, Scalzo, Nenstiel, Dwebeng, Jim Welsh, Jared Black, and Nate Alcott who won three Freedom Conference championships with three berths in the Division III national tournament and posted a combined 80-33 record over the past four seasons.

At Plattsburgh, N.Y.; Memorial Hall

PLATTSBURGH STATE 83, KING'S COLLEGE 77

KING'S COLLEGE (20-9)
John Soboleski 7-10 16-23 30; Jamie Cousart 6-9 0-0 12; Kofi Dwebeng 4-10
1-2 12; Vince Scalzo 3-8 1-2 10; Kevin Conroy 2-4 0-0 4; Chris Hacker 1-3 1-2 4; Jim Welsh 1-4 0-0 3; Ryan Nenstiel 1-7 0-0 2; Jim Schule 0-1 0-0 0; Mike Wagner 0-0 0-0 0; Nate Alcott 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-56 19-29 77.

PLATTSBURGH STATE (27-2)
Anthony Williams 6-27 7-8 22; Antwane Miller 6-9 3-4 16; Travis Gorham 7-13
2-4 16; Errol Daniyan 4-5 0-0 8; Chris Ruiz 3-9 1-3 7; Khylan Hunt 3-5 0-1 7; Ricky Rider 2-4 2-2 7; RJ Ponesse 0-0 0-0 0; Shawn Gutzman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-72 15-22 83.

King's College.................... 33 36 8 - 77
Plattsburgh State............. 26 43 14 - 83

3-point goals--King's College 8-23 (Kofi Dwebeng 3-5; Vince Scalzo 3-6; Jim Welsh 1-4; Chris Hacker 1-1; Ryan Nenstiel 0-5; Kevin Conroy 0-1; Jamie Cousart 0-1), Plattsburgh State 6-20 (Anthony Williams 3-8; Ricky Rider 1-3;
Khylan Hunt 1-3; Antwane Miller 1-1; Chris Ruiz 0-4; Travis Gorham 0-1).
Fouled out--King's College-Chris Hacker, Plattsburgh State-Khylan Hunt. Rebounds--King's College 27 (John Soboleski 8; Jamie Cousart 8), Plattsburgh
State 48 (Travis Gorham 17). Assists--King's College 17 (Jamie Cousart 6),
Plattsburgh State 13 (Antwane Miller 4; Anthony Williams 4). Total fouls--King's College 19, Plattsburgh State 21. Technical fouls--King's College-None, Plattsburgh State-None. A-1000