Feb. 17, 2007

Box Score

February 17, 2007 - St. Davids, Pa. - Coaching in his first PAC playoff game Coach Stitzel knew it was going to be a tough battle. Prior to the game coach Stitzel explained, "This is another season for us. The intensity of the playoffs raises everyone's focus and energy and really becomes the second part of our season. With that being said I fully expect this game to be an ebb and flow and very difficult." And that it was.

The Knights got down early in the contest by a score of 9-3 but rushed back into the game with three pointers by senior Ronnie Fields and junior Dehran Patrick. The ebb and flow had started. As the teams battled back and forth in the first half the Knights saw five of their seven field goals come from behind the three point stripe. At same time they also shot 26% from the field and went into half-time down ten points 33-23.

The second half saw the Knights use their trademark pressure defense to jump start an 11-0 run. Neumann forced turnovers both in transition and in the half-court and was able to dominate the tempo. The run gave the Knights a 34-33 lead.

Attempting to keep the tempo high the Knights began to get into foul trouble. Fouls called against seniors, Leon Dales and Ronnie Fields as well as junior Dehran Patrick began to accumulate. A key moment came at the 11:10 mark when Patrick picked up his fourth foul away from the ball. This shifted the momentum of the game back to the Eagles who began to go to the foul line with the bonus.

While the Eagles made their foul shots the Knights proceeded to miss their foul shot opportunities and the tenuous lead for the Knights became a six point margin for the Eagles. Eastern University's Matt Malloy made 15 straight free throws in the second half.

The Knights made one more run to bring the margin to one at 58-57 with five minutes to play. Despite this run Neumann came up short on back to back possessions, coming away with no points. Eastern was able to make the next bucket and regain momentum. The tide had turned and Eastern began capitalizing at the foul line.

The Knights were led by senior Ronnie Fields with 20 points and sophomore Michael Hitchens with 14. Neumann finished the game shooting 35% from the field while Eastern finished the game shooting 43%. Coach Stitzel explained in his post-game interview his thoughts on the team's effort saying, "I thought we gave a great effort. We made a couple runs particularly to start the second half, I was proud of them for that. We got into foul trouble and had to make some changes. But I was proud of our ability to focus on trying to play our style of basketball. You know we got a taste for winning again." The Knights finished their season with a 13-13 overall record and 10-8 record in conference play.