Warriors Fall Short at King's
Second Half Shooting Woes Undermine Strong Efforts
Box score

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. --- Lycoming men’s basketball opened the major portion of the 2006 league schedule in less than desirable fashion at King’s College, falling to the Monarchs 71-55 on Wednesday evening.  The Warriors drop to 7-7, 1-2 on the season while King’s improves to 8-6, 2-1.

After going into the half up 31-28, Lycoming’s customary consistent shooting slumped to 29.0 percent (9-of-31 from the field) in the second frame including a 1-for-10 showing from beyond the arc.  In contrast, the Monarch’s improved upon an 11-for-23 first half output with a 55.2 percent scorching in the second, hitting on 16-of-29 shots.

Freshman Greg Sye (Chantilly, Pa./Chantilly) was strong in the trenches for the Warriors with a team-high 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting to go along with nine rebounds (four offensive).  Senior swingman Patrick Baylor (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O’Hara) dropped in 10 points to go along with six boards, and sophomore guard Dave Wilson (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville) added nine on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting night (1-for-1 3-pt. field goals).

Guard Jamie Cousart led the Monarch’s attack with a game-high 20 points and seven assists.  He also came away with four steals.  Center John Soboleski added 10 points while forward Vince Scalzo pulled down a game-best 11 rebounds.

Points came slow in the early going of the first half with the Warriors climbing out to a 9-4 advantage with 16:21 on the clock.  Included in the scoring was the opening bucket, a three-pointer, by senior forward Jonathan Pribble (Woolrich, Pa./Central Mountain), the only field goal he’d record on the night.  Kings’s went on a bit of a run from there, stretching to a five-point edge at 14-9.

A three-pointer each from Wilson, Kevin Morris (Camp Hill, Pa./Trinity), and Baylor quickly regained the Warriors’ edge at 18-16 before they pulled out to a 25-18 lead marking their largest margin of the game.  King’s got a little closer over the final 6:04, but Lycoming went into the half up three at 31-28.

The Monarch’s came out in the second half pressing Lycoming further up the court than in the first stanza.  The Warriors, without senior point guard Brad Musser (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) for this game, didn’t adjust to the press as quickly as normal.  King’s quickly erased Lycoming’s halftime lead, claiming its first edge of the half at 34-33 with 17:53 on the clock.

The lead jostled back and forth over the next few minutes thanks to a pair of field goals from Sye and one from Baylor, but King’s persevered and earned a lead it would not relinquish again at 40-39 with 15:05 to play.

Lycoming is next in action on Saturday, January 14, as the Warriors try to snap their three game-skid at Drew University.  The Freedom Conference match up is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.  You can catch all the action on the Internet as WRAK’s Tom Losch and Ken Sawyer bring all the action to you via the MSA Sports Network.  Visit the Warrior men’s basketball web page to access the game prior to tip-off at http://www.lycoming.edu/sports/mbball/main.htm.