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By MATTHEW CROSS mcross@leader.net
Tuesday, February 08, 2000 Page:
DALLAS – Monday was a tough day for Misericordia College. It lost a game
against Beaver College, its hold on second place in the Pennsylvania Athletic
Conference and a little bit of momentum going into the last stretch of the
season.
With 10 minutes left in Monday’s men’s college basketball game, it looked
like the exact opposite would be true.
The Cougars had a 12-point lead and had successfully fended off the
Knights’ attack several times throughout the game. But Beaver outscored
Misericordia 25-7 from that point on, including a 15-0 run, and stole a 73-67
victory at the Anderson Center.
“When you get the lead and you’re ready to take control, you have to
execute. We didn’t do that,” Cougars coach Dave Martin said. “Things got
tight and we didn’t do what we needed to do. If we’re going to be a
championship team, we’ve got to win these kinds of games at home.”
Misericordia (11-9, 8-4) now stands in third place in the PAC with four
games left on the regular-season schedule, including a game at 13-0 Cabrini on
Valentine’s Day. Beaver, meanwhile, grabbed second place in the league and is
now 12-9, 9-4.
Willie Chandler, who is second in the nation among Division III players in
scoring with a 27.4-point average, had 17 points in the losing effort.
Beaver’s Mike Gary led all scorers with 27 points and was 7-for-10 from
three-point range. His teammate, Tim Boerner, added 24.
In the first half Misericordia took an early 13-3 lead by working the ball
inside to Jason Perry and Jason Mailliard. But Beaver slowed that plan down
and took a 16-15 lead midway through the half.
The Knights’ lead didn’t last long, as the Cougars started pouring it in
from outside and eventually took a 15-point lead with two minutes left. By
halftime, Chandler and Sakson had five three-pointers between them.
But the most important event in the half was a late 6-0 run by Beaver
before the teams headed into the locker room. Those six points took a lot out
of Misericordia even though the Cougars were up by nine points.
“I think we lost our momentum,” Cougars senior guard Mark Sakson said.
“We went into the locker room with our heads down.”
Misericordia came out strong in the second half and built a good lead, but
just as the Cougars started to feel comfortable, they went cold on the
offensive end and Beaver went on a 15-0 run to steal the lead 63-60. They
never looked back.
“We had no movement on offense,” Sakson said. “We were just standing
around waiting for somebody to do something. Then they went on the run, and we
couldn’t answer.”
While Misericordia has struggled all season to find consistency in its
game, Martin still said his team has the talent to do something in the
playoffs. Barring a complete fold in the next few games, the Cougars should be
a high seed in the PAC tournament.
“This was a big game, but there’s no time to sit around and sulk,” he
said. “We’ve got to be ready to play, or we’re going to get beat again.”
Call Cross at 829-7127. Rutgers-Camden 71 King’s 65
CAMDEN, N.J. – Dennis Hobbs led King’s College with 20 points as it was
defeated in an overtime game against Rutgers-Camden. Corey Dickerson added 15
points for the Monarchs.
Rutgers Camden was led by Ray DePasquale with 23 points and Keith Gorman
with 13. Cabrini 71 Marywood 48
SCRANTON – Harold Shaw led Marywood University with 11 points as it fell to
Cabrini.
Cabrini was led by Tim Anderloins with 19 points. Molloy 90 Bloomsburg 87
ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. – Despite a career-high 24 points from Aaron Carter,
Bloomsburg University lost in overtime to Molloy College.
Molloy rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final 3:05 of regulation to
force overtime. Women’s Basketball Misericordia 69 Beaver 53
DALLAS – Kristy Boyd scored 13 points to help College Misericordia defeat
Beaver College.
Colleen Butcher scored 11 points for the Cougars and Mary Rowlands added
10. Marywood 70 Cedar Crest 59
SCRANTON – Melissa Barrett scored 19 points in helping Marywood University
defeat Cedar Crest.
Geralyn Meehan added 17 points for the Pacers.