Blue Jays Fall at DeSales 71-65

Following are the stories of Saturday's game as gathered from around the Web.

First from the E-town College Website:

DeSales remains unbeaten with 71-65 win in men's hoops action

ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, December 13, 2008

DeSales 71, Elizabethtown 65

Click here for the box score

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. --- Darnell Braswell scored a game-high 22 points and Brian Hunter added 20 as DeSales University remained undefeated with a 71-65 victory over Elizabethtown College in non-conference men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Billera Hall.

Ed Lapinski chipped in with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs (8-0 overall), who led from start to finish by as many as 17 points before the Blue Jays (5-4 overall) used a late rally to trim to deficit to four points.

Keith Fogel (Mifllinburg, PA/Mifflinburg) sank a career-high four three-pointers and finished with 20 points for Elizabethtown, while Mike Church (Peach Bottom, PA/Solanco) notched his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, but the Blue Jays shot just 39 percent (23-for-59) from the field and committed 21 turnovers in defeat.

Braswell went 8-for-16 from the field and 6-for-9 from the foul line for DeSales, while Hunter connected on four three-pointers on the afternoon as the Bulldogs hit 54.8 percent (17-for-31) from the field in the first half to take a 42-30 lead at intermission.

The Bulldogs held their largest lead of the day at 51-34 following a steal and layup by Braswell with 15:26 to play, but the Blue Jays chipped away behind Fogel and Church, who combined for 21 of Elizabethtown's 35 points in the second half.

The Blue Jays pulled within six points on several occasions, and managed to move to within 69-65 on a three-pointer by Chris Jones (Airville, PA/Kennard-Dale) with eight seconds to go, but Braswell hit two foul shots with three seconds left to close the scoring.

In addition to his 20 points, Fogel also finished with a career-high seven steals for Elizabethtown, while Joe Flanagan (Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) reached double figures for the ninth time in as many games with 11 points. Off the bench, Kyle McConnell (Lebanon, PA/Cedar Crest) came up with six points and four assists in 15 minutes of action.

From the DeSales Website:

Bullldogs Stay Unbeaten with 71-65 Win over Elizabethtown

BOX SCORE

Center Valley, PA (December 13, 2008) – For the first time in school history the DeSales University men’s basketball team will open its Christmas presents without having lost a basketball game as the Bulldogs will enter the Christmas break with a perfect 8-0 record after a 71-65 win over Elizabethtown College on Saturday afternoon in Billera Hall.

The Bulldogs are 8-0 for the first time in school history and will take three weeks off before putting their unblemished record on the line on Saturday, January 3rd. DSU shot 47.3 percent from the field for the game, including a 54.8 percent effort in the opening half, handing the Blue Jays their fourth loss of the season as they fall to 5-4 overall. E-Town shot just 39.0 percent for the game as both teams were sloppy with the ball combining for 41 turnovers, 21 for Elizabethtown and 20 for DeSales.

DSU never trailed in the game taking a 3-0 lead on a three-point play from junior Darnell Braswell (Allentown, PA/William Allen) to start the game and held the lead throughout in the win. Leading by just two points, 23-21, at the 8:05 mark of the opening half, the Bulldogs used an 8-0 run to build a 10-point lead as sophomore Brian Hunter (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) and Braswell combined for all eight points, five by Hunter including one three-pointer.

The lead grew as high as 14 points, 42-28, before a lay-up from Joe Flanagan to end the half provided the 42-30 halftime score as each team entered the locker room.

DeSales started out hot in the second half, pushing its lead up to 17-points, 51-34, before the Blue Jays began to chip away. The Bulldogs were held scoreless over the next six and a half minutes as EC cut the lead down to six points, before a three-point play from Hunter snapped the scoring drought and pushed the lead up to nine points, 54-45, with 8:58 to go.

Elizabethtown continued to chip away cutting the lead to six several times and got within five, 62-57, at the 2:24 mark before a lay-up from Braswell quickly pushed the game back to a three possession contest and the Bulldogs hit 6-of-8 charity tosses over the final 43 seconds to ice the game and provide the final margin.

Once again the backcourt combination of Braswell and Hunter combined for a large portion of DSU’s scoring with 42 of the 71 points. Braswell led the way with 22, while Hunter added 20. Senior Ed Lapinski (Red Hill, PA/Upper Perkiomen) had nine points and pulled down a game-high 12 boards, senior Matt Zwetolitz (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) added seven points, and junior Jim Malatesta (Warminster, PA/Archbishop Wood) totaled eight points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals in the win.

The Bulldogs will get a chance to rest their legs for three weeks before returning to action on Saturday, January 3rd when they host John Jay College in the opening game of the Casa Mia Holiday Tournament beginning at 2:00 pm.

From the Lancaster Sunday News:

Undefeated DeSales holds off Elizabethtown, 71-65

Sunday News

By STAFF

Darnell Braswell scored a game-high 22 points and Brian Hunter added 20 as DeSales University remained undefeated with a 71-65 victory over Elizabethtown College in a non-conference men's basketball game Saturday in Center Valley.

Ed Lapinski chipped in with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs (8-0), who led by as many as 17 before the Blue Jays (5-4) used a late rally to trim to deficit to four points.

Keith Fogel sank a career-high four three-pointers and finished with 20 points for Elizabethtown. Mike Church (Solanco) had his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, but the Blue Jays shot just 39 percent (23-for-59) from the field and committed 21 turnovers.

Braswell went 8-for-16 from the field and 6-for-9 from the foul line for DeSales. Hunter connected on four three-pointers as the Bulldogs hit 54.8 percent (17-for-31) from the field in the first half to take a 42-30 lead at intermission.

The Bulldogs held their largest lead of the day at 51-34 following a steal and layup by Braswell with 15:26 to play, but the Blue Jays chipped away behind Fogel and Church, who combined for 21 of Elizabethtown's 35 points in the second half.

The Blue Jays pulled within six points on several occasions, and managed to move to within 69-65 on a three-pointer by Chris Jones with eight seconds to go, but Braswell hit two foul shots with three seconds left to close the scoring.

Fogel also finished with a career-high seven steals. Joe Flanagan (Lancaster Mennonite) reached double figures for the ninth time in as many games with 11 points. Off the bench, Kyle McConnell (Cedar Crest) came up had six points and four assists in 15 minutes.

Finally, from the Allentown Morning Call:

Burke's big second half sinks Messiah
Braswell, Hunter lead Bulldog men to win over E'town.

By Mandy Housenick Of The Morning Call
December 14, 2008

DeSales women's basketball players, coaches and fans are used to seeing LeighAnn Burke stand out. The senior guard entered Saturday's game averaging nearly 20 points per contest.

So you can imagine their surprise when she had just seven at halftime on 3-of-10 shooting.

The Philadelphia native more than made up for it in the second half.

Burke poured in 25 in the final two quarters for a game-high 32, which propelled No. 18 DeSales to a come-from-behind victory over No. 6 Messiah 70-64 at Billera Hall.

''When she's unhappy with what she's done, she's going to do something about it,'' DeSales coach Fred Richter said.

In the second game of the doubleheader, the DeSales men's team continued its torrid start by beating Elizabethtown 71-65. Allen graduate Darnell Braswell led all scorers with 22 points. Teammate Brian Hunter, an Emmaus alum, added 20 for the Bulldogs, whose 8-0 start is the best in program history.

Except for scoring the first basket of the game, the women didn't own the lead until the 12:26 mark of the second half. The Bulldogs trailed by as many as 10 three times in the first half, including at intermission. During that first 20 minutes, Burke shot just 30 percent from the field. As a team, DeSales didn't make a steal and committed 12 turnovers to Messiah's five.

''I was getting open and I was getting my shots,'' Burke said. ''But I knew I needed to start to hit some jump shots.''

The Bulldogs' defense turned it into high gear in the second half. The Bulldogs made two steals in the first two minutes (they finished with six), both of which led to baskets and finally tied the game at 42 on Burke's baseline jumper with 15:01 left. She scored five of her team's next seven points, including a trey from the corner on an inbounds play that gave the Bulldogs the lead for good.

"Sometimes that's a shot I don't get because people know the play,'' Burke said.

DeSales' lead over Messiah, which lost in the Division III national championship a season ago, grew to 10 when Megan Bedard scored with 1:43 left to make it 67-57.

The DeSales men had to make some last-minute adjustments when they found out that starting guard Rob Schubach, a Southern Lehigh graduate, had pink eye.

The Bulldogs, though, hardly missed a beat. They owned the lead for the entire game, which included a 17-point advantage 4:30 into the second half.

Braswell's athleticism helped him shoot 50 percent from the field. And Hunter's jump shot was on Saturday. The sophomore, who came into the game averaging 12.3 per game, had 14 at halftime. He wound up hitting six of 10 from the floor, including four of six from 3-point range.

''I'm a pretty confident player and coach [Scott Coval] has a lot of confidence in me,'' Hunter said. ''So when I'm open, I don't really think twice about putting up a shot.''