FEBRUARY 26, 2005
BOB ZIADIE
KING’S GOES
DANCING!!! MONARCHS HOLD
OFF DESALES TO WIN MAC FREEDOM CROWN
CENTER VALLEY -- For the first time since 1992, the
King's College men's basketball team is going dancing.
King's built a 16-point lead and held off a furious second-half DeSales
University rally to post a 77-72 victory in the MAC Freedom Conference
championship game Saturday before an enthusiastic, standing-room-only
crowd of 1,000 spectators in Billera Hall, Center Valley.
King's (22-5), the second-seed in the tournament,
equaled a school-record for victories in a season, but more important,
earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
It is the Monarchs first Freedom Conference title since 1994 and the
program's first national tournament berth since King's made three straight
NCAA trips from 1991-93. DeSales, the tournament top-seed, fell to 20-7.
The Monarchs appeared to be in control after taking a 41-29 half-time
lead, then extended the advantage to 15 points early in the second half.
Marty' O'Hora's bucket, followed by a three-pointer from freshman Vince
Scalzo gave King's a 46-31 lead with 17:47 left in the contest.
DeSales Mike Venafra would get hot and scored 10 straight points for the
Bulldogs to cut the lead to 49-38 with 14:12 remaining. But King's
countered with a Scalzo basket and a three-pointer by Horgan to extend the
Monarch lead to 56-40 with 12:33 on the clock.
From there DeSales would respond with a 17-6 run, closing to within 62-57
on a bucket by Phil Stricker. After Scalzo made two shots to push the lead
to 64-57, one of the most significant moments of the game would occur on
DeSales next possession. Near the center-court line, Monarch senior star
Brian Horgan and Stricker both dove for a loose ball and collided. Horgan
was whistled for the foul, then a technical foul upon disagreeing with the
call. Horgan then went to the bench for the next 2:17 with his fourth foul
while Venafra made both technicals to bring the Bulldogs to within 64-59
with 5:36 remaining.
King's caught a break when Stricker missed the front-end of a one-and-one
off the Horgan personal foul, but the Monarchs were unable to take
advantage with a turnover on its next possession. Venafra was then fouled
and hit both shots to bring the score to 64-61 with 5:05 on the clock.
After another King's turnover, Eddie Ohlson drew a foul and made
one-of-two shots with 4:25 remaining to bring the Bulldogs to within
64-62.
King's would take a 67-62 lead on a huge three-pointer by Landon Gabriel
with 4:01 left but Drew Christman nailed a big three-pointer, then
followed with a transition layup after a Monarch miss to knot the score at
67-67 with 3:14 remaining. DeSales would then take its first lead of the
second half when Stricker was fouled and made both shots to put the
Bulldogs on top 69-67 with2:44on the clock.
The lead would be short-lived as Monarchs came through with a crucial 6-0
spurt to recapture the lead. Freshman center John Soboleski was fouled and
made both charity tosses to tie the score at 69-69 with 2:20 remaining.
Horgan was then fouled after rebounding a DeSales miss and mad both shots
to push the score to 71-69 at 2:01. On King's next possession Scalzo
snared a big offensive rebounds off a Monarch miss and was fouled on the
play, making both shots to extend the lead to 73-69 with 1:08 left.
Venafra would then drain another big three-pointer for the Bulldogs to
bring the score to 73-72 with 0:29 on the clock. With DeSales looking to
foul, King's inbounded the ball to Horgan who put on the line. The Monarch
standout calmly sank both shots to stretch the lead to 75-72 with 0:23
remaining.
Needing a three-pointer to tie the score, Christman's trey bounced off the
rim and Moore snagged the rebound and was fouled with 0:03 left. Moore
sank both shots to put the game out of reach as King's took a 77-72 lead.
After the final whistle, numerous Monarch fans swarmed King's players to
celebrate the victory.
DeSales opened the game with a 7-0 run, keyed by a
three-pointer from David Spadt and a traditional three-point play from
Sticker. The Monarchs answered with a three-pointer from Gabriel and a
bucket from Marty O’Hora before freshman Jim Welsh buried back-to-back
three-pointers to give King’s an 11-7 lead with 13:43 remaining.
The Bulldogs answered with consecutive treys from Mike Zinn to take a
13-11 lead but the Monarchs responded with buckets from Soboleski and
Moore to take a 15-13 advantage with 11:33 on the clock.
After DeSales took a 28-27 lead with 4:48 left, the Monarchs would close
out the half with a 14-1 run. Scalzo converted a three-point play,
followed by a basket from Moore. Horgan, who had been held scoreless at
the time, netted seven straight points on a pair of baskets and a
three-pointer to give King’s a 39-28 lead with 1:27 in the half. After
Zinn made one of two foul shots for DeSales, King’s ended the first-half
scoring when Gabriel found Moore with an outstanding in transition to give
King’s a 41-29 lead at the break.
In the first-half alone, the teams combined for 11 lead changes before the
Monarchs late run.
Horgan, who was selected as the regular-season Freedom Conference most
valuable player on Monday, was additionally honored as the MVP of the
Freedom Conference Tournament after netting a team-high 18 points with
seven rebounds, four steals, and two assists. In King's two tournament
games, Horgan averaged 25.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 3.0
steals, and 2.0 assists.
Scalzo had a huge effort for King's with 17 points and nine boards,
including five crucial offensive rebounds. Moore came off the bench to
score 12 points with five rebounds, and four assists while O'Hora
contributed 11 points. Welsh came off the bench to net nine important
first-half points while senior point-guard Landon Gabriel chipped in with
six points and five assists.
The Monarchs shot 47.4 (27-57) percent from the field and committed just
eight turnovers. The Monarchs also made 14-of-17 from the foul line.
DeSales was paced by the outstanding play of Venafra who netted a
game-high 23 points with four rebounds and three assists. Christmas added
12 points while Stricker, Ohlson, and Mike Zinn chipped in with nine
points.
DeSales shot 38.6 percent for the game but connected on 48.3 (14-29)
percent in the second-half. The Bulldogs were 18-of-22 from the
charity stripe while committing 15 turnovers.
King's will now await word from the NCAA on its post-season fate. The
Monarchs, who were ranked second in the Mid-Atlantic Region entering the
week, could receive a first-round bye, depending how many teams from the
region are awarded berths. The NCAA will announce the field Sunday night
at 10:30 p.m.
