A late second-half slump cost The University of Scranton dearly in a 75-69 loss to King’s College in the Freedom Conference opener for both teams Wednesday evening at Scandlon Gymnasium.
The Royals, now 1-2 overall and 0-1 in league play, built up a nine-point lead early in the second-half, before King’s College ended the game on a 14-8 run over the final six minutes to pull out the victory. Junior guard Kofi Dwebeng (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern) scored 13 of his team-high 18 points in the second-half, junior guard Jamie Cousart (Holland, Pa./Holy Ghost Preparatory) added 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, and senior forward Bob Nenstiel (Zion Grove, Pa./Weatherly) chipped in 12 points off the bench as the Monarchs improved to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the conference.
Sophomore forward Paul Hawk (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) buried five 3-pointers en route to a career and game-high 23 points and junior guard Randy Arnold (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) scored 13 of 15 points in the second-half for Scranton, which suffered a similar fate in last Saturday’s 71-61 loss to Catholic University. In that game, the Royals overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to take a one-point lead, but scored only three points over the final five minutes.
Hawk connected on five of seven shots from the field to score 12 points as the Royals scratched out a 31-29 lead by halftime, despite being out-rebounded by an 18-10 margin. Four players scored five points apiece for the Monarchs in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Sophomore guard Ryan FitzPatrick (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga), who finished with 11 points, ignited a 9-2 run with a 3-pointer and Arnold added four points as Scranton built up its largest lead, 40-31, early in the second-half. Jwebeng then scored seven points during a 25-16 rally over a 10-minute span as the Monarchs chipped away at the Royal lead and eventually tied the score at 56-56 with 7:21 left.
After two ties and three lead changes over the next two minutes, Jwebeng put King’s ahead for good with a 3-pointer and followed it up with a field goal as the Monarchs led 66-63 with 2:54 remaining. Scranton sophomore forward Paul Biagioli (Waverly, Pa./Abington Heights) cut the margin to one with a basket with 2:09 left before King’s scored eight straight points—four by senior guard Vince Sobocinski (Norristown, Pa./Lansdale Catholic)—to take a comfortable nine-point lead, 74-65, with 21 seconds left.
The Monarchs dominated the boards by out-rebounding Scranton, 37-18, and shot 62.5 percent (15 of 24) in the second-half to finish 55.3 percent for the game. King’s also took advantage of the free throw line by connecting on 17 of 23 attempts (73.9 percent).
Hawk’s previous career-high was an 18-point effort in a 70-58 victory over FDU-Florham on January 14, 2006, in Madison, New Jersey.
Scranton will host the Devils of FDU-Florham in Freedom Conference action this Saturday, December 2, at 3:00 p.m. in the Long Center.
THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (1-2/0-1 Freedom) Hawk, Paul 9-13 0-0 23; Arnold, Randy 6-12 2-2 15; FitzPatrick, Ryan 4-11 0-0 11; Biagioli, Paul 3-6 0-0 7; Bicknell, Tom 3-8 0-0 6; Kirk, Ryan 1-3 0-0 3; Powell, James 1-3 0-0 2; Cannon, Darren 0-1 2-3 2; Fuller, Brendan 0-0 0-0 0; O'Connell, Dan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-58 4-5 69. KING'S COLLEGE (3-2/1-0 Freedom) Kofi Dwebeng 7-11 1-1 18; Jamie Cousart 5-7 3-4 13; Bob Nenstiel 4-7 4-6 12; Jim Welsh 3-8 1-2 9; Vince Sobocinski 2-4 4-4 9; John Soboleski 2-3 4-6 8; Vince Scalzo 3-6 0-0 6; Nolan Thevenet 0-1 0-0 0; Jim Schule 0-0 0-0 0; Josh Kovalski 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-47 17-23 75. The University of Scranton.... 31 38 - 69 King's College................ 29 46 - 75 3-point goals-The University of Scranton 11-25 (Hawk, Paul 5-8; FitzPatrick, Ryan 3-7; Biagioli, Paul 1-2; Kirk, Ryan 1-2; Arnold, Randy 1-4; O'Connell, Dan 0-1; Cannon, Darren 0-1), King's College 6-16 (Kofi Dwebeng 3-5; Jim Welsh 2-6; Vince Sobocinski 1-3; Vince Scalzo 0-1; Bob Nenstiel 0-1). Fouled out--The University of Scranton-None, King's College-None. Rebounds-The University of Scranton 18 (Arnold, Randy 5), King's College 37 (Jamie Cousart 10). Assists-The University of Scranton 15 (FitzPatrick, Ryan 6), King's College 14 (Kofi Dwebeng 5). Total fouls-The University of Scranton 18, King's College 10. A-2100