$4 Million W-b Bond Gets 1st Ok 
Mayor Tom Leighton Says The Money Is Needed To Pay This Year's Bills.

Genevieve Sollami January 9, 2004

By VAN ROSE vrose@leader.net
 Wednesday, January 14, 2004 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3B 





SCRANTON - It's no secret that Wilkes senior Mike Morgan is one of the most
prolific three-point shooters in the history of Colonels basketball. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Scranton coach Carl Danzig tried to impress that fact on his team prior to
Tuesday night's Freedom Conference game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Apparently, the Royals didn't fully grasp just how dangerous Morgan is from
long range. The 6-foot-4 senior from Riverside High School put on a shooting
clinic in the first half. Morgan tossed in 18 points - all from three-point
range - to propel Wilkes to a hard-earned 70-60 victory over the Royals at the
Long Center. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``Morgan's a great shooter, and our kids knew it,'' Danzig said. ``But I
guess it was one of those situations where they had to see it to believe it.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Morgan was 6-of-9 from three-point range in the first half, enabling Wilkes
to take a 41-38 lead at intermission. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Even though the Royals (1-10, 0-2) are in a rebuilding mode, the game
proved to be a typical Scranton-Wilkes war. The Royals gave the Colonels fits
throughout the first 30 minutes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It was a tremendously physical game, but we expected that,'' Morgan said.
``I thought both teams played extremely hard.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wilkes struck first in the second half, extending its lead to 43-38 on a
basket by Rashawn Pressley. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 However, Scranton came roaring back, thanks to the superb play of Brian
O'Donnell. The junior forward scored five straight points, including a
three-point bomb, to tie the score at 45-45. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Royals battled Wilkes on even terms for the next 10 minutes. The Royals
surged ahead, 54-53, on Nick Alfier's three-point play with 9:10 remaining in
the game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Scranton hit a cold spell that allowed Wilkes to take control. The
Royals failed to score for eight minutes, during which the Colonels forged a
65-54 lead with just 1:44 left to play. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wilkes made several defensive adjustments in the second half that proved to
be the difference, according to coach Jerry Rickrode. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I have to give all the credit to my assistant coaches. Brian McGraw told
me we had to make the changes, and he really coached the team during a
six-minute period late in the game.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Both teams shot the ball poorly in the final 20 minutes. Scranton shot just
28 percent from the field (7-of-25), while Wilkes was even worse. The Colonels
checked in at 26 percent (6-of-23). &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``Thank God for Morgan,'' Rickrode said. ``He really got hot in the first
half. Some of those shots he made were really deep threes.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Scranton tightened its defense on Morgan in the second half, limiting him
to one point. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sophomores John Yanniello and Pressley picked up the slack. Yanniello, an
Old Forge grad, wound up with 15 points, while Pressley had 11 points.
Yanniello hit four consecutive free throws and a clutch field goal in the
closing minutes to keep Scranton at bay. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 O'Donnell led Scranton with a game-high 21 points. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wilkes (8-4, 1-1) came into the game in an angry mood, because of its 83-69
home court loss to Richard Stockton last Saturday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``We were pretty upset by the Richard Stockton game,'' Morgan said. ``We
got outhustled. We had two very intense practices this week. We closed the
doors and really got serious.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It was a frustrating loss for Scranton, but Danzig was pleased with his
team's effort. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I'm living and dying with freshmen and sophomores,'' Danzig said. ``Our
kids played really hard. We just need to win one.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Wilkes' 3-point Sniper On Target