Sports
FEBRUARY 12, 2008
20
Colonels score triple digits in win over Aggies BY CARLTON HOLMES Beacon Sports Editor If Saturday’s game against Delaware Valley was any indication of how the Colonels will perform down the stretch, you’re looking at a team that will be granted home court advantage at least during the first round of the conference playoffs. The Colonels beat the brakes off the Aggies in a highly up-tempo contest 100-67, in front of an estimated 700 basketball fans watching from the stands of the Marts Gymnasium. Transition baskets and stingy defense were the key recipes for the Colonels who held the Aggies to just under 40 percent shooting and forced 18 turnovers while netting 60.7 percent from the field, their second highest shooting percentage of the sea-
son (The team’s season high was 65 percent against Manhattanville on1/22). That win improves the Colonels to 12-8 overall and 6-2 in the MAC Freedom conference which places the team third behind DeSales University and Manhattanville College. The Colonels beat Manhattanville which puts them in control of the second seed. The only reason they trail Manhattanville is because the Valiants played one more conference game than the Colonels. Both of the Colonels conference losses were to the DeSales Bulldogs. The sloppy Aggies are 2-19, 0-9 in the conference. Delware Valley was out-hustled throughout the entire contest. At halftime, the Colonels doubled the Aggies point total as the score
stood 53-26. If any adjustments were made to slow down the Colonels in the locker room, they certainly did not work. At one point during the second half, DelVal’s Brian Hilinski missed a wide open lay-up from the right side and Aggies head coach, Denny Surovec, smacked his teeth, flapped his arms and asked, “Are you kidding me?” Yes coach, the entire game was a joke. But that’s largely due to how well the Colonels have been playing at home recently. They have won three of their last four at home, winning each game by more than 20 points. “I know it’s a young bunch, but we’re catching on,” said head coach Jerry Rickrode. “We are not one of the more veteran teams (in the conference) but we can be
dangerous.” Four Colonels reached doublefigures including junior forward Steve Kline who led all scorers with a career-high 26 points by connecting on nine of his 11 attempts in 25 minutes played. Sophomore Tom Kresge followed with 20 points and made all but one attempt. He went 8-9 from the floor. Both Kresge and Kline hit both of their attempts from behind the three-point line. As a team, the Colonels cashed in 10 of their 18 attempts from downtown including 8-14 in the first half. Junior guard Jason Seipt and senior forward Zack Van Dyke led the Aggies with 13 apiece. The Colonels have three games left to play before the Freedom Conference playoffs. They go on the road Wednesday to face Man-
The Beacon/Matthew Gogas
hattanville and come back home Saturday to face Arcadia University and King’s College next Tuesday. “We are in a strong position to make a run in the conference playoff,” said freshman guard Chris DeRojas, leader of the Colonels scoring attack with 14.7 points per game. “I think we’re ready.”
Conference Standings 1. DeSales, 7-2 2. Manhattanville, 7-2 3. Wilkes, 6-2 4. King’s, 6-3 5. Arcadia, 3-5 6. FDU-Florham, 1-7 7. Del. Val., 0-9