MARCH 1, 2007
WIDENER USES BIG SECOND-HALF TO DOWN KING'S 76-63
IN NCAA OPENER
WILKES-BARRE -- Visiting Widener University shot a
scorching 56-percent in the second half to break open a close game as
the Pride defeated host King's College 76-63 in the opening round of the
NCAA Division III National Tournament Thursday in Scandlon Gymnasium,
Wilkes-Barre.
With the win, Widener improved to 15-12 with its third straight
post-season road victory. King's ended its season at 19-9.
The teams battled don even terms throughout the first half with eight
lead changes and five ties. Widener led by as many as six points on a
pair of foul shots by Essien Ford with 9:15 on the clock gave the Pride
a 23-17 lead. But the Monarchs responded with a 15-4 run thanks to three
straight three-pointers, one by Kofi Dwebeng and two from Ryan Nenstiel
as King's took a 32-27 advantage with 3:08 remaining. Widener would
counter with back-to-back treys by Ford and Nyere Miller and one-of-two
foul shots from Terry Smith to knot the score at 36-36 at the half.
The game continued to go back and forth as a King's lay-up by Vince
Scalzo would tie the score at 46-46 with 14:13 left. But a three-pointer
by Ford would ignited a 20-2 Widener run over the next 8:10. During the
stretch, Terry Smith netted six points while Malcolm Thomas added five
and a jumper from Edmunds with 5:53 remaining gave the Pride a 66-48
lead.
King's would attempt to battle back and cut the lead to 66-55 on a
lay-up by Cousart, two foul shots from Scalzo and three charity tosses
by Dwebeng with 4:15 left, the Monarchs would come no closer.
Widener outscored King's 40-27 over the final 20:00 of play, making
14-of-25 field goals during the second stanza.
Ford led the Pride with 19 points on 7-of-14 from the floor while
Edmunds scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half, including a trio
of long three-pointers. Thomas also netted 16 points with six rebounds
while Smith contributed 15 points and 12 boards.
King's was led by Kofi Dwebeng, who transferred to King's from Widener
two years ago, with 20 points of 6-of-10 shooting. Scalzo finished with
17 points and six rebounds while Ryan Nenstiel scored all 15 of his
points in the first half but was 0-3 in the second half.
Widener will next travel to Amherst, MA to face sixth-ranked Amherst
College (25-2) Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
WIDENER UNIVERSITY 76, KING'S COLLEGE 63
WIDENER (15-12)
Ford, Essien 7-14 3-4 19; Edmunds, Bobby 5-7 3-5 16; Thomas, Malcolm
7-16 1-3 16; Smith, Terry 4-7 7-8 15; Miller, Nyere 2-6 0-0 5; Douglas,
David 1-2 1-3 3; Sosna, Matt 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 27-55 15-23 76.
KING'S COLLEGE (19-9)
Kofi Dwebeng 6-10 5-7 20; Vince Scalzo 5-13 7-9 17; Ryan Nenstiel 6-12
0-0 15; Jamie Cousart 4-12 0-1 8; John Soboleski 1-1 1-2 3; Jim Welsh
0-3 0-0 0; Bob Nenstiel 0-2 0-0 0; Vince Sobocinski 0-2 0-0 0. Totals
22-55 13-19 63.
Widener......................... 36 40 - 76
King's College................ 36 27 - 63
3-point goals-Widener 7-19 (Edmunds, Bobby 3-3; Ford, Essien 2-7;
Thomas,
Malcolm 1-4; Miller, Nyere 1-5), King's College 6-23 (Kofi Dwebeng 3-6;
Ryan
Nenstiel 3-8; Jamie Cousart 0-1; Jim Welsh 0-2; Bob Nenstiel 0-2; Vince
Sobocinski 0-1; Vince Scalzo 0-3). Fouled out--Widener-None, King's
College-Vince Sobocinski. Rebounds-Widener 36 (Smith, Terry 12), King's
College 32 (Jamie Cousart 8). Assists-Widener 12 (Douglas, David 5),
King's
College 11 (Jamie Cousart 4). Total fouls-Widener 18, King's College 18.
A-1100
NCAA Tournament First Round
