BOX SCORE

Center Valley, PA (January 20, 2010) – Senior Darnell Braswell (Allentown, PA/William Allen) and junior Brian Hunter (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) combined for 33 points as the DeSales University men’s basketball team used a 6-0 run after Wilkes University had pulled within two points mid-way thru the second half to win 78-64 and stay undefeated in the Freedom Conference on Wednesday night.

The Bulldogs are now 12-4 overall and 6-0 in the Freedom heading into a first-place showdown with King’s College on Saturday afternoon in Billera Hall. The Monarchs also won on Wednesday night and sit in second place with a 5-1 conference mark. Wilkes falls to 9-7 overall and 1-5 in the Freedom standings with the loss.

After a sluggish first two minutes of the game, the Bulldogs took complete control opening up as much as a 16-point first half lead (35-19) before settling for a 37-24 advantage at the break thanks to some excellent shooting (53.8 percent) but some even more impressive defense over the first twenty minutes as DeSales held Wilkes to just 24 points and forced nine Colonel turnovers.

Tied at four, DSU used a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to lead 17-6 as Braswell, senior Rob Schubach (Center Valley, PA/Southern Lehigh), and sophomore Bob Zanneo (Philadelphia, PA/Father Judge) all hit three’s during the run.

The second half started out just like the opening twenty minutes as DeSales upped its lead to 17 points twice before the Colonels began chipping away. Wilkes got within five points at the 12:26 mark but a Braswell triple pushed the lead back to eight with 12:23 left. The Colonels, however, went on an 8-2 run over the next 3:30 to get within two points (55-53) at the 8:53 mark as the Bulldogs called timeout.

Braswell went to work out of the timeout, grabbing an offensive rebound and making an acrobatic shot while being fouled as he finished off the three-point play from the charity stripe to give DSU a five-point cushion. Freshman Brett Moyer (Souderton, PA/Christopher Dock) followed the Braswell three-point play with one of his own finishing off the mini-spurt to give DeSales a 61-53 edge.

Wilkes never got any closer than six points the rest of the way as the Bulldogs finished the game out-scoring the Colonels, 10-3 over the final 3:43 to earn the home victory.

Braswell recorded his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Hunter added a team-high 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Moyer led the charge off the bench with 13 points, including a 9-for-11 effort from the free throw line and Schubach added 11 points.

Senior Tom Kresge totaled a game-high 20 ponts, while fellow senior Anthony Gabriel finished with 14 points. Paul Huch rounded out the double digit scorers with 11 for Wilkes.

The Bulldogs host King’s College on Saturday as the first half of the conference schedule wraps-up. The winner of the game will take sole possession of first place heading into the final month of the season. Game time is set for 4:00 pm. For those unable to attend you can follow the game online via LIVE Stats and Audio available on the DeSales athletics web site.