FEBRUARY
23, 2002
BOB ZIADIE
MONARCH CAGERS FALL TO LYCOMING 72-64 IN MAC FINAL
WILKES-BARRE -- Jason Black ignited Lycoming College with 17 of his
27 points in the first half to as the Warriors jumped out to a 19-point
half-time, then held off a King's College second-half rally to post a
72-64 victory in the MAC Freedom Conference championship game Saturday in
Scandlon Gymnasium.
With the win Lycoming earned an NCAA Division III national tournament
berth in improving to 19-7. The Monarchs, who slipped to 21-6, must await
word of a possible at-large berth into the national tournament.
Black scorched the nets in the first half, making all six shots while
burying 5-of-5 from three-point range as the Warriors took a 34-15 into
the locker room. The Monarchs, meanwhile, were ice cold offensively,
hitting just 24.1 (7-29) percent from the field while going just 1-of-10
from three-point range.
In the second half, Lycoming went from 16:06 to the 7:20 mark without a
field goal, but were able to maintain a double-digit lead as the Warriors
benefited from the foul line where they converted 8-of-11 attempts from
the charity stripe.
King's would chip away and cut the margin to 52-47 on a pair of foul shots
by Dannie Evans with 5:45 left. After Curtis Mays converted a pair of foul
shots to give the Warriors a 54-47 advantage with 5:32 left, the Monarchs
would respond with a three-pointer by Landon Gabriel to cut the lead to
54-50 with 4:34 remaining.
But the
Monarchs would draw no closer as Black ignited a 7-2 run with consecutive
baskets followed by a bucket by Napier and one-of-two foul shots by Mays
to give Lycoming at 61-52 lead with 1:37 left to seal the victory.
Matt Stackhouse added 13 points while Mays and Thomas Wesner chipped in
with 10 points each for the Warriors.
Kasim Holloman led the Monarchs with 21 points while Dennis Hobbs added 14
points and nine rebounds. Brian Horgan chipped in with nine points and a
game-high 14 rebounds.
Lycoming eared its first NCAA national tournament berth since the 1995-96
season. King's was in search of its first national appearance since
the 1991-92 campaign and will find out its fate when the NCAA selection
show announces the field of teams Sunday at 9:00 p.m.
BOX
SCORE
