Williamsport 
Deaths Possible 
Murder/suicide

Alice Hill 
Jan. 26, 1994 
Alice Hill, Of Easton, Died Wednesday, Jan. 26, In The Easton Hospital.

By STEVE SEMBRAT
 Tuesday, February 15, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





Times Leader Assistant Sports Editor &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 SCRANTON -- Voices anxiously cried out from the Wilkes University bench as
the University of Scranton men's basketball team made its anticipated run
Monday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Colonels' coaches and players barked out intensely: "Suck it up, suck
it up, suck it up." Not just because a couple of Wilkes players had the flu,
either. The team's title hopes were on the line and everybody knew it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wilkes sucked it up, all right, and accomplished something that no other
team has in the 48-year history of the program. The Colonels drilled the
Royals, 65-55 at the Long Center, and clinched a berth in the Middle Atlantic
Conference playoffs for the second straight year. Wilkes had never earned
back-to-back trips to post-season play before this. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Scranton scored the last seven points in a freaky final 30 seconds to make
the score look more respectable. Wilkes dominated the game at the Long Center
when it counted and swept the season series from the Royals for the first time
since the 1973-74 season. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "When we got a little down, we showed some maturity," Wilkes senior Chris
Patackis said. "We showed what this team is made of. We played good defense
down the stretch, which is what we really needed to do to win." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wilkes can now take aim at winning the MAC Freedom League title. The
Colonels improved to 19-3 overall and 10-2 in the Freedom League with the win.
If they win their final two games of the regular season -- at FDU-Madison
Wednesday and at Upsala Saturday -- they clinch the title. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We have to take care of business," Wilkes coach Jerry Rickrode said.
"We're not thinking about any tiebreakers. We're just looking to get the job
done." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Scranton lost its second straight league game and is now in danger of
missing the MAC playoffs. The Royals fell to 13-9 and 7-5, and are tied with
FDU-Madison for fourth place in the Freedom League. Only the top four teams
from the league reach post-season play. Scranton faces must-win home games
against Drew Wednesday and King's Saturday to close out the regular season. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The way we're playing, you can see why we're backed into a corner,"
Scranton coach Bob Bessoir said. "We just don't score enough to win. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Their defense caused a lot of it. Our fumbleitis caused a lot of it. I'd
rather give them credit for good defense." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wilkes grabbed a 33-22 lead late in the first half and seemed to be on the
verge of blowing the game open. Scranton, though, scored the final four points
of the first half then the first eight points of the second half to grab a
34-33 lead. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The last time the Colonels faced a similar situation was Wednesday in a
loss to King's. They led that game at halftime, but fell apart after a run by
the Monarchs and lost by 11 points. Rickrode said he knew Scranton would make
at least one serious run in the game and that his team was ready for it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The key is not to let it fluster you," Rickrode said. "That's what we were
able to do." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Patackis scored four points during a 7-0 run that put Wilkes ahead to stay.
A little later, Chris Parker (15 points) scored two buckets and a pair of foul
shots, and Nikia Tillman (eight point) drilled a 3-point goal that put Wilkes
in command, 49-37, with 12:11 to play. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I told Chris Patackis before the game he needed to have a big game for
us," Rickrode said. "He did that and he's playing sick. He has the flu." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 So did Eric Davis, who wasn't going to play but sucked it up and gave the
Colonels some solid minutes. Dave Clancy and Matt McCaffrey did the same to
help Wilkes get through the adversity. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "That is definitely one of our strong points," Patackis said. "If we have
two people sick, we have the kind of bench that can make up for it." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The closest Scranton got down the stretch was within nine points with about
3 minutes to play. Patackis, a 6-foot-5 center, responded with eight straight
points -- including a 3-point goal -- to put the game away. He also had a
team-high 10 boards, as the Colonels outrebounded and outhustled the taller
Royals. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Coach is really big on defense, you don't play if you don't play defense,"
Wilkes' Dave Macedo said. "He told us to take it personally if our guy scored.
We knew we stopped them; it would just be a matter of time before we won." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pat Beacham led Scranton with a game-high 17 points and 12 rebounds. Larry
Pegula added 16 points. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The key, though, was that Wilkes was able to hold freshman sensation
Charlie Nanick to five points. Macedo provided much of the intense man-to-man
coverage with help from several teammates. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We knew Nanick was a great shooter. He's a rookie-of-the-year candidate,"
Macedo said. "We felt if we could stop him, we could get a run going and take
it from there." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 WILKES (65) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Macedo 2-8 2-2 7, Tillman 3-8 0-2 8, Davis 1-3 0-0 2, Parker 4-10 6-11 15,
Harlan 1-5 2-2 5, Turman 2-8 0-2 4, Marko 1-6 0-0 2, Clancy 2-4 2-4 6, Burlew
0-0 0-0 0, Patackis 4-10 7-9 16, McCaffrey 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-64 19-32 65. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 SCRANTON (55) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Odom 1-3 0-0 3, Gilmartin 2-5 0-0 5, Nanick 2-7 1-2 5, Beacham 7-11 3-5 17,
Fairlamb 4-12 1-4 9, Pegula 6-14 1-2 16, McGee 0-2 0-0 0, Cavallo 0-2 0-0 0,
Greco 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-56 6-13 55. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Three-point goals: Wilkes 6-24 -- Macedo 1-7, Tillman 2-7, Parker 1-1,
Harlan 1-3, Turman 0-2, Marko 0-1, Patackis 1-1, McCaffrey 0-2. Scranton 5-15
-- Odom 1-1, Gilmartin 1-3, Nanick 0-3, Pegula 3-7, McGee 0-1. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Assists: Wilkes 9 (Turman, Parker 3), Scranton 13 (Odom 5). &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rebounds: Wilkes 45 (Patackis 10), Scranton 42 (Beacham 12). &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Halftime: Wilkes 33, Scranton 26. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 LCCC men &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 CLARKS SUMMIT -- Kevin Scott scored a game-high 26 points and Rob Moore
added 21 as Luzerne County Community College beat Baptist Bible College
105-88. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 LCCC (14-4, 11-3) hit nine 3-point goals in the game, including three by
Scott Nichols. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 John Fletcher paced BBC with 18 points. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 LCCC (105) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Scott 9 6-8 26, Nichols 5 2-2 15, Moore 8 5-6 21, Barnes 5 0-0 12, Woods 2
2-2 7, Zelinske 1 0-0 3, Shotwell 0 0-0 0, Richards 3 7-10 13, Mudlock 3 2-2
8. Totals 36 24-30 105. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 BBC (88) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Yasay 4 0-0 8, Bartley 5 5-8 17, Arp 1 2-3 5, Fry 3 0-0 6, Gossell 0 0-2 0,
Je. Gruet 0 0-0 0, Jo. Gruet 1 0-0 2, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Hurtekunt 1 0-0 3,
Jenkins 2 0-2 4, Martin 3 1-2 7, Zuman 0 0-0 0, Fletcher 6 5-7 18, Lucker 8
0-0 18, Wright 0 0-0 0. Totals 34 13-24 88. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Three-point goals: LCCC (9): Nichols 3, Scott 2, Barnes 2, Woods 1,
Zelinske 1. BBC (7): Bartley 2, Lucker 2, Arp 1, Hurtekunt 1, Fletcher 1. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Halftime: LCCC 51, BBC 42. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Miseri men &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 DUNMORE -- Rich Wetzel and Jamie Mladenoff scored 14 points each to lead
College Misericordia to an 82-59 victory over Marywood College in a
Pennsylvania Athletic Conference contest. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rich Martini added 12 and Pete Dincher 10 for the Cougars (13-6, 8-3 in
PAC). &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Misericordia will return to action Wednesday at Cabrini College. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 MISERICORDIA (82) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Beggs 3 1-2 9, Dincher 4 2-3 10, Martini 5 2-2 12, Fritz 2 2-2 6, Harvey 1
1-2 3, Mladenoff 4 6-6 14, Schwartz 2 2-2 8, Clementoni 3 0-1 6, Wetzel 2 9-13
14. Totals 24 25-33 82. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 MARYWOOD (59) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Shields 3 0-0 8, Herman 3 0-0 6, Walsh 1 0-0 3, Dougherty 0 1-2 1, Molinaro
10 2-3 24, Van Louvander 1 0-0 2, Klem 1 0-0 3, Rainey 3 3-6 10, Eckenrode 0
2-2 2. Totals 22 8-13 59. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Three-point goals: Misericordia-- Beggs 2, Schwartz 2, Wetzel. Marywood--
Shields 2, Walsh, Rainey, Molinaro 2, Klem. Halftime: Misericordia 43,
Marywood 25. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 King's men &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 SELINSGROVE -- Steve Mayernick and Jack Schran scored 14 points each, but
it wasn't enough as Susquehanna topped King's, 77-66. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Susquehanna went 27-for-36 from the foul line. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dave Doram chipped in 12 points and Pete Bednarek added 11 for the
Monarchs. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 King's (13-9, 9-3) next travels to Lycoming Wednesday, where a win
guarantees the Monarchs a playoff spot in the Middle Atlantic Conference
Freedom League. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 KING'S (66) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Schran 4 5-7 14, Kringe 2 0-0 5, Keithline 0 0-0 0, Fitzpatrick 0 0-0 0,
Woolpert 0 0-0 0, Doram 4 3-5 12, Buskirk 3 0-0 6, Bednarek 4 0-0 11, Martin 0
0-0 0, Mayernick 7 0-0 14, Charles 0 0-0 0, Yanoski 1 2-2 4, Barron 0 0-0 0,
McClaffery 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 10-16 66. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 SUSQUEHANNA (77) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Heimbach 3 5-6 13, Wolf 1 2-2 5, Rumbaugh 0 0-0 0, Cassaro 0 0-0 0,
Hendricks 11 3-8 25, Swinsberg 0 0-0 0, Ross 3 7-7 14, McCram 0 2-2 2, Smith 0
1-2 1, Houser 4 4-6 12, Reed 1 3-3 5. Totals 23 27-36 77. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Three-point goals: King's (6): Bednarek 3, Schran 1, Kringe 1, Doram 1.
Susquehanna (4): Heimbach 2, Wolf 1, Ross 1. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Halftime: Susquehanna 38, King's 30.

Gutty Wilkes Is Playoff-bound Again Colonels Stop Royals, Stay In Title Hunt