FEBRUARY 19, 2003
BOB ZIADIE
HOLLOMAN LEADS MONARCHS TO CRUCIAL WIN OVER
WILKES
WILKES-BARRE -- Senior forward Kasim Holloman scored
a career-high 36 points to lead the King's College men's basketball team
to a 78-61 victory over Wilkes University in a crucial MAC Freedom
Conference matchup Wednesday in Scandlon Gymnasium.
With the win, King's improved to 15-9 overall and -5
in conference play. Wilkes fell to 17-6 and 8-5
The Monarchs entered the contest in a must-win
situation, trailing Wilkes by one game in the race for the fourth and
final Freedom Conference playoff berth. The win sends the teams into a
deadlock heading into the final game of the season on Saturday.
King's overcame an eight-point first-half deficit
and took a 25-23 lead with 0:47 remaining on a bucket by Holloman who was
fouled in the act of shooting. But the game would change dramatically when
Wilkes Coach Jerry Rickrode was tagged with a pair of technical fouls and
ejected from the contest. Monarch guard Dannie Evans would sink all four
foul shots off the technical, and Holloman connected on his foul shot to
give the Monarchs a 30-23 half-time lead.
In the second half, Wilkes would draw to within
42-38 on a three-point play by Dave Plisko with 14:41 remaining but the
Colonels would draw no closer.
Evans was the only other Monarch to score in double
figures with 13 points. Steve Hite added six points and 12 rebounds while
Dave Marks and Jonathan Veet added six each.
Wilkes was led by freshman Rashawn Pressley with 22
points while Plisko added 19.
King's closes out the season Saturday with a 3:00
p.m. contest at FDU-Florham. Should the Monarchs win and Wilkes earn a
victory over Scranton to forge another tie for the final playoff spot, the
MAC will determine which team advances to the post-season according to MAC
tiebreaker rules which will not be clarified until all teams complete play
Saturday night.
