Center Valley, PA (February 28, 2007) – Junior Eddie Ohlson (Allentown, PA/Parkland) dished out a game-high nine assists, while junior Phil Stricker (Womelsdorf, PA/Conrad Weiser) and sophomore Ed Lapinski (Red Hill, PA/Upper Perkiomen) combined for 38 points and 26 rebounds to lead the DeSales University men’s basketball team past Gwynedd-Mercy College, 88-77, in the ECAC South Region Tournament Quarterfinals on Wednesday evening in Billera Hall.

 

        Lapinski recorded his first career double-double with a team-high 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.  Stricker tallied his third double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 boards and Ohlson’s nine helpers moved him into first place all-time in the DeSales record book.  He now has 480 assists surpassing Gerry Mayza who has 474 and had held the mark since the conclusion of the 1986-87 season.

 

        Senior Steve Kriczky (Birdsboro, PA/Daniel Boone) had an impressive outing with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists, freshman Darnell Braswell (Allentown, PA/William Allen) totaled 15 points and a season-high six assists and senior Sedale Walton (Levittown, PA/Harry S. Truman) rounded out the Bulldog double digit scorers with 10 points off the bench.

 

        DeSales (20-8 overall) opened up an early 8-0 lead before the Griffins (14-13 overall) battled back to tie the game at 16 with 12:10 left in the opening half.  A 20-8 spurt over the next seven minutes gave the hosts its largest advantage of the half, 36-24, before settling for a seven point edge, 39-32, heading into the locker rooms.  Lapinski and Kriczky combined for 27 of the 39 Bulldog points and Lemeire Talley kept GMC in the game with 10 first-half tallies.

 

        Gwynedd tied the game at 43 at the start of the second half and trailed by just one, 46-45, with 15:26 to go before the Bulldogs put the game away with a 17-4 run that pushed the lead to 14 points, 63-49, with 9:17 remaining.  Walton had eight points and Stricker totaled seven markers during the game-clinching spurt.  Stricker’s lay-in at the 14:15 mark gave Ohlson his fifth assist of the game, setting the all-time career record with 475 helpers.

 

        DSU finished the game shooting 54.1 percent from the field and held a 39-32 advantage on the glass.  The win is the 11^th straight at home for the Bulldogs and gives DeSales its fourth 20-win season over the last five years.

 

        Talley finished with 21 points and four assists, Haven Wroten totaled 13 points and Matt Johnson had 12 points as the lone double figure scorers for Gwynedd-Mercy.