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FEBRUARY 24, 2007
KING'S MEN WIN FREEDOM CONFERENCE TITLE WITH 67-64
THRILLER OVER DESALES
(Monarchs earn second NCAA D-III National Berth in
Three Years)
 WILKES-BARRE -- Ryan Nenstiel scored 19 points and Jamie Cousart made a
pair of clutch foul shots with 0:07 left in the contest as the King's
College men's basketball team held off DeSales University 67-64 in the
Freedom Conference championship game Saturday in Scandlon Gymnasium.
(Cousart was presented MVP award by King's athletic
director Cheryl Ish)
With the win, top-seeded King's improved to 19-8
on the year, but more importantly, earned an automatic berth in the NCAA
Division III National Tournament, its second in three years. With the
loss, third-seeded DeSales slipped to 19-8 and fell for the second time
in the Freedom Conference title game to the Monarchs in a three-year
span. King's bested DeSales 77-72 in the 2005 conference final in Center
Valley.
King's built a 40-37 half-time lead thanks to a 14-point effort by
Nenstiel in the opening stanza. The 6-5 junior guard made 6-of-7 shots
and scored 12 straight points to give King's a 21-13 lead. King's would
take its biggest lead of the half at 15 points when a three-pointer by
Kofi Dwebeng upped the Monarch advantage to 30-15 with 6:29 on the
clock.
DeSales, however, would chip away and outscored King's 25-10 the rest of
the way to close to within 40-37 on a steal and lay-up by Matt Zwetolitz
with 0:01 on the clock.
In the second half, King's used five straight points from John
Soboleski, a bucket by Dwebeng, and two foul shots from Vince Scalzo to
extend the lead to 48-37 with 16:17 remaining. DeSales would again
respond with a three-pointer from Jamie McCloskey, a pair of foul shots
by Phil Stricker, and a basket by Ed Lapinski to cap a 8-0 run and bring
the Bulldogs to within 48-45 with 12:01 left.
King's would counter with a 12-3 run of its own thanks to a
three-pointer from Nenstiel, seven consecutive points by Cousart, and a
basket down low from Scalzo to push the lead back to 60-47 with 8:14
left in the contest.
The Bulldogs showed their character, though, and would not fade, using
six points from Stricker, a pair of field goals by Darnell Braswell, and
a three-pointer by Sedale Walton to cap a 15-3 run and cut the lead to
63-62 with 3:32 remaining.
The Monarchs, however, would never surrender the lead as Dwebeng made a
pair of foul shots to give King's a 65-62 lead with 3:09 on the clock.
The teams would trade misses and turnovers over the next few possessions
until DeSales rebounded a King's miss with 0:16 remaining and the
Monarchs clinging to a three-point lead. Braswell would launch an errant
three-pointer from the wing, but was fouled by Dwebeng with just 0:08 on
the clock to give DeSales an opportunity to tie the score. But the
freshman guard would miss his first attempt, but made the next two shots
to bring the Bulldogs to within 65-64. Cousart was immediately fouled on
the inbounds pass with 0:07.6 left and calmly sank both charity tosses
to up the King's advantage to 67-64.
DeSales would have one last shot but Braswell's three-pointer with 0:02
left bounced off the front of the rim and Vince Sobocinski hauled in the
rebound as time expired.
Nenstiel, who transferred to King's in January after two seasons at
Division II Bloomsburg University, finished with 19 points on 8-of-9
shooting while making 3-of-3 from three-point range. Soboleski netted 13
points with seven rebounds and three assists while Cousart scored nine
of his 11 points in the second half while adding four rebounds, three
assists, and three steals. Cousart, who had 24 points and 10 rebounds in
the Monarchs semi-final victory over FDU-Florham on Wednesday, was named
the Freedom Conference Tournament most valuable player.
Scalzo contributed eight points while Dwebeng finished with seven. Sobocinski chipped in with four points, seven rebounds, and three
assists.
DeSales was led by Stricker with 16 points and nine rebounds while
Braswell tallied 16 points and five boards. Ed Lapinski tallied nine
points and four rebounds while Eddie Ohlson added eight points and eight
assists. McCloskey also scored eight points for the Bulldogs.
King's will now await word on its Division III National Tournament
destiny as the 2007 tournament field and pairings will be announced
Monday morning at:
http://www.ncaasports.com/basketball/mens/schedules/diviii
KING'S COLLEGE 67, DESALES UNIVERSITY 64
DESALES UNIVERSITY (19-8)
Phil Stricker 5-12 6-6 16; Darnell Braswell 6-15 3-5 16; Ed Lapinski 4-8
0-0 9; Jamie McCloskey 3-5 0-0 8; Eddie Ohlson 2-5 2-2 8; Sedale Walton
2-5 0-0 5; Matt Zwetolitz 1-3 0-2 2; Steve Kriczky 0-2 0-0 0.
Totals 23-55 11-15 64.
KING'S COLLEGE (19-8)
Ryan Nenstiel 8-9 0-0 19; John Soboleski 6-8 1-2 13; Jamie Cousart 4-8
3-5 11; Vince Scalzo 2-8 4-4 8; Kofi Dwebeng 2-5 2-2 7; Bob Nenstiel 2-6
1-2 5; Vince Sobocinski 1-2 2-2 4; Jim Welsh 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 25-47 13-17 67.
DeSales University............ 37 27 - 64
King's College................... 40 27 - 67
3-point goals-DeSales University 7-21 (Eddie Ohlson 2-4; Jamie McCloskey
2-4; Sedale Walton 1-1; Darnell Braswell 1-6; Ed Lapinski 1-3; Steve
Kriczky 0-2; Matt Zwetolitz 0-1), King's College 4-10 (Ryan Nenstiel
3-3; Kofi Dwebeng 1-1; Jamie Cousart 0-1; Vince Scalzo 0-1; Bob Nenstiel
0-3; Vince Sobocinski 0-1).
Fouled out--DeSales University-Jamie McCloskey, King's College-Vince
Scalzo.
Rebounds-DeSales University 29 (Phil Stricker 9), King's College 29
(John Soboleski 8).
Assists-DeSales University 18 (Eddie Ohlson 8), King's College 15 (John
Soboleski 3; Jamie Cousart 3; Vince Sobocinski 3; Vince Scalzo 3).
Total fouls-DeSales University 15, King's College 18.
Attendance - 2,350
2007 Freedom Conference Championship Game
King's advances to NCAA Division III National Tournament
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