Center Valley, PA (February 9, 2019) - The DeSales University men's basketball team used a strong second-half out-scoring Misericordia University by 17 to earn a 76-60 win over the Cougars in MAC Freedom action on Saturday afternoon in Billera Hall.

The Basics/Notes

• Final Score: DeSales - 76, Misericordia - 60
• Records: DeSales (17-6, 10-2 Conf.); Misericordia (12-11, 5-7 Conf.)
• The win keeps DSU in first place in the MAC Freedom by one game over Eastern University with two regular season games left to play.
• The Bulldogs can clinch the #1 seed, home court in the MAC Freedom postseason tournament, and the MAC Freedom Regular Season Championship with a win on Tuesday at Eastern.

How it Happened

• DSU was quick out of the gates in this one scoring the first eight points of the game and leading 12-3 before Misericordia rallied to take a 20-16 lead.
• DeSales trailed by five (24-19) before an 11-2 run led by nine points from sophomore Timmy Edwards put DSU up four (30-26) with 2:59 to go in the half.
• The Bulldogs went scoreless the rest of the half, however, and the Cougars finished with five straight points to lead 31-30 at the break.
• Still trailing by one point (40-39) early in the second-half, DSU used a 17-2 run over the span of five minutes to put the game away.
• The spurt started with a three from junior Tracy Simsick and ended with a triple from sophomore Mike Bealer.
• MU got within nine points once (64-55), but DSU answered that with a 12-2 run capped off by a block off the backboard from freshman Keba Mitchell and a dunk on the other end by Simsick to the Cougars away.

Top Bulldog Performers

• Senior Luke Connaghan finished with a game-high 16 points to lead DeSales.
• Sophomore Matt Kachelries added 13 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists.
• Junior Alex House, Simsick, junior Julian Wing, and Edwards all added nine points.
• Mitchelle finished with eight points and eight boards.

For the Foes

• The Cougars got 13 points from Jason Kenny, 12 from Patrick Douthit, and 10 from Tyerell Mann in the loss.

Inside the Box Score

• DSU dominated the paint out-rebounding Misericordia, 44-31, and out-scoring the Cougars 46-22 in the lane.
• DeSales shot 46.9 percent from the field and held MU to just 36.8 percent shooting.

Up Next

• The Bulldogs will travel on the road to take on Eastern University in a critical MAC Freedom game set to begin at 8:00 pm.