William Algar

American Dream Hinges Upon Fulfillment Of Promises For Education

By JOHN ERZAR jerzar@leader.net
 Sunday, January 19, 2003 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 4C 





WILKES-BARRE - King's College guard Dannie Evans made the reasoning sound
simple Saturday afternoon. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 About as simple as he and the Monarchs made shooting three-pointers look. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ``That's the only thing they gave me in the beginning,'' Evans said. ``I
didn't want to run into the big guy, so I just took what they gave me.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Evans took a lot. He nailed four three-pointers within the game's first
eight minutes, allowing King's to distance itself early from the University of
Scranton on the way to an 86-73 MAC Freedom Conference men's basketball
victory. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Evans, a Norristown High School graduate, scored a career-high 33 points as
King's (3-1 MAC Freedom, 10-4 overall) snapped Scranton's 10-game winning
streak. The Royals fell to 3-1 in the conference and 11-3 overall. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``That was the game plan. We wanted to make it a 90-foot game and attack,
attack, attack,'' Evans said. ``We didn't want them to play a 40-foot game and
get comfortable and slow it down.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 King's felt the effects of a patient offense early. Scranton seemed content
with getting the ball inside to 6-foot-8 Derek Elphick, its leading scorer.
The result was a 7-0 lead. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Then Evans hit his first trey at 16:38, setting off a King's barrage from
outside the arc. The Monarchs scored their first 21 points via seven
three-pointers, including four in a row, to take a 21-11 lead at 11:52. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``The way we play the game is we look for openings and take advantage of
what the defense gives us,'' King's coach J.P. Andrejko said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Monarchs shot better from three-point range than inside the arc in the
first half (47 percent vs. 43 percent) to take a 42-35 lead into halftime. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 King's came out strongly in the second half. Evans hit his final two
three-pointers and center Dave Marks added balance with three inside baskets
for a 59-38 advantage with 13:55 to play. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Shortly thereafter, King's leading scorer Kasim Holloman picked up three
fouls in about a 10-second span (one each on offense and defense and then a
technical) to foul out. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``He's a good player and it made a difference when he left the floor,''
Scranton coach Carl Danzig said. ``We made a run and kind of got back into the
game. It shook them up a little bit.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Scranton guard Ryan Rogan led a rally that saw the Royals cut the deficit
to 65-59 with 7:32 remaining. The Monarchs, though, found somebody to step up
at crucial times down the stretch. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I don't know if I was nervous,'' Andrejko said. ``They are a very good
team and they are going to make a run at you. They aren't going 40 minutes
without taking their shot.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

3-point Barrage Sparks King's The Monarchs, Now 10-4, Use Their Long-range Accuracy To Snap Scranton's 10-game Win Streak.