The Misericordia men's basketball team defeated Baptist Bible in the opening round of the 17th annual Ramada/Laurel Line Tournament Friday night. The win comes in a rematch of last year's tournament championship, where the Cougars were victorious.
The Defenders had no answer for 6-6 Cougar forward Vinny Baumunk, who stands three inches taller than any Defender who stepped on the court. Baumunk posted a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. He further dominated the Defenders by adding a pair of blocks.
The Cougars led by as many as 19 points in the second half. They collected 15 assists as a team—many came off passes to Baumunk in the paint.
“We were very disciplined on defense tonight,” head coach Trevor Woodruff said. “When we showed discipline, it was tough for those other guys to get good looks.”
Dom Del Prete attacked with 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Marqus Hunter made his first start of the season and added eight points, three assists and two steals.
Traditionally an outside shooting team, the Defenders took 30 total shots from beyond the arc. To the Cougars advantage, many of those shots were made in haste. Just seven sank. They battled to get within 10 in the final five minutes of the second half.
Justin Cook led the Defenders with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists. Zac Menendez, Nathan Greve and Tom Waszaj each had nine points.
The Cougars face Marywood tomorrow night in the championship game in a rematch of the 2003 finals. The Pacers defeated Penn State-Hazleton in the early match Friday.
“They've got guys who can really run, jump and shoot well,” Woodruff said. “We're really excited to be playing for the championship against a quality opponent.”
The Cougars have won the Laurel Line Tournament five times since its inception. The Pacers won it once—in 2004.
The consolation match between Baptist Bible and Penn State-Hazleton tips off at 6:00 p.m. Saturday night; the championship tips at 8:00 p.m.
