Box Score BOX SCORE
Purchase, NY (January 26, 2008) – The DeSales University men's basketball team led by as many as 22 points in the first half and held off a furious second-half charge in an 88-82 win over Manhattanville College in a Freedom Conference game on Saturday afternoon in Kennedy Gymnasium.
The first 10 minutes of the game were back and forth as DeSales (15-2, 5-0 Freedom) clung to 17-16 lead after a jumper from Jason Walsh. A three-pointer from junior Matt Zwetolitz (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) started a run of three straight triples that was part of a 21-2 run over the next six and a half minutes giving DSU a 38-18 lead at the 4:44 mark.
In addition to the three from Zwetolitz, sophomores Rob Schubach (Center Valley, PA/Southern Lehigh) and Eric Salem (Reading, PA/Exeter) hit treys and sophomore Darnell Braswell (Allentown, PA/William Allen) equaled Salem's five points to lead the spurt that saw six different Bulldogs score.
The lead swelled to as many as 22 points, before DSU settled for a 47-27 halftime advantage. DeSales shot 58.1 percent as compared to just 35.7 percent for Manhattanville (11-6, 3-2 Freedom) in the opening 20 minutes. Braswell tallied a game-high 12 first-half points to lead nine different Bulldogs in the scoring column.
The second half saw the Valiants come out of the locker room with lots of energy as they slowly chipped away at the first-half deficit. MC got within 14 on three different occasions early in the half before a 9-2 DSU run pushed the lead to 21 points, 60-39, at the 14:22 mark.
A quick 8-0 run by the hosts cut the DSU lead to 13 points, 62-49, with 11:29 to go. The game was back and forth over the next four minutes with DeSales clinging to a 12-point lead. The Valiants cut the margin to eight points several times but two lay-ups from senior Phil Stricker (Womelsdorf, PA/Conrad Weiser) and another from senior Eddie Ohlson (Allentown, PA/Parkland) countered each Manhattanville basket as DSU continued to lead by double digits, 77-67, at the 3:35 mark.
Five straight free throws on the next four M-Ville possessions cut the lead down to five points, 77-72, with 2:26 to go. Junior Ed Lapinski (Red Hill, PA/Upper Perkiomen) converted a fast-break lay-up off a nice feed from fellow junior Zwetolitz to push the lead back to seven points on the next possession.
After some back and forth scoring saw DeSales still enjoying a seven-point cushion with 27 seconds left, Donte Chisholm converted a lay-up and Brian Fink hit a three-pointer around one Zwetolitz free throw putting the Valiants within three points with 17 ticks left. Braswell was fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass and calmly knocked down both free throws and made a steal on the next MC possession to seal the road win.
Manhattanville clawed its way back into the game by shooting 60.0 percent from the field in the second half and knocking down 5-of-11 from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs shot 58.3 percent from the field but converted just 48.0 percent from the free throw line in the second half (12-of-25).
Stricker finished the game with a game-high 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field. He added eight rebounds on the glass. Braswell totaled 22 points, grabbed six rebounds and swiped three steals, while Lapinski also reached double digits with 12 points. Ohlson finished with eight points, nine assists and three steals, and Salem and Zwetolitz each collected five points to lead the charge off the bench.
Cody Moffett led the Valiants with 23 points and Chisholm finished with 16 points, all coming in the second half. Fink also reached double digits with 13 points and Wesley Wicks and Brendan Flynn each had nine points in the loss.
The Bulldogs return to action on Wednesday, January 30th when they host Arcadia University in a Freedom Conference beginning at 8:00 pm. For those unable to attend the game can be followed online via LIVE stats at the following link – CLICK HERE.
