Hoops to Help the Cause
Kiwanis K.I.D.D.'s Hoop Tourneys at Susquehanna This Fri.-Sun.
Proceeds to Benefit Club's Fight Against Iodine Deficiency Disorder
SELINSGROVE, (Pa.) -- Susquehanna University will once again play host to the Second Annual Susquehanna Kiwanis K.I.D.D.'s (Kiwanians against Iodine Deficiency Disorder) Men's and Women's Basketball Tip-Off Tournaments this Friday through Sunday, November 20 through 22. The host Crusaders will battle teams from Marietta College, the College of Staten Island and SUNY-New Paltz for the title on the men's side Friday and Saturday, with teams from Holy Family College, Thiel College and Russell Sage Colleges joining the host Crusaders in the women's tournament Saturday and Sunday.
All proceeds from the tournament will be donated to Kiwanis International and UNICEF for their fight against Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD), which afflicts children in third-world countries. Sponsored by members of the local Kiwanis Clubs Division 12 South, who represent seven Kiwanis chapters in the immediate area, this is the fourth year Kiwanians have hosted Susquehanna basketball events to assist in their fight against IDD. They initially hosted a men's/women's doubleheader in 1995, upgrading to a men's basketball holiday tournament in 1996, and both tournaments last season. They have raised approximately $12,000 in three years for their cause and organizers are hoping to raise comparable figures again this year.
"It's been a great success and we've really been able to directly help children in third world countries who are afflicted with Iodine Deficiency Disorder through the money we've raised," says Tom Diehl, a member of the Kiwanis K.I.D.D.'s Games Committee as well as the Sunbury Kiwanis Club. Also a member of Susquehanna's Sports Hall of Fame, Diehl is also the most successful women's basketball head coach in Susquehanna history as he guided Crusaders to a 127-39 record (.765) from 1980-87.
This year's men's tournament appears to be wide open featuring four veteran teams which posted similar records in 1997-98. The host Crusaders had the best record among the field -- going 15-10 while finishing fourth in the strong Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth League. They will play the 8 p.m. game Friday against a SUNY-New Paltz team which was 12-13 and finished fourth in the State University of New York Athletic Conference. Staten Island fell short of a fourth-straight 20-win season, but still made the ECAC Metro NY/NJ Tournament semifinals before finishing 15-13. The Dolphins will play Friday's 6 p.m. opener against a Marietta squad which was 14-13 a year ago, but plays in the same Ohio Athletic Conference which produced 1997 Susquehanna Kiwanis Tournament champ Baldwin-Wallace. The consolation and championship games will be at 6 and 8 p.m. respectively on Saturday night.
NAIA Division II power Holy Family and host and defending champion Susquehanna appear to be the favorites on the women's side and could play a rematch of Holy Family's 76-60 win over the Crusaders in its tournament last season. Holy Family went on to finish 33-5 last season as a power in the Northeast Athletic Conference. The Lady Tigers will play Saturday's 1 p.m. opener against a Thiel squad which returns all five starters from last season's 13-12 third-place President's Athletic Conference team. Susquehanna was 15-9 a year ago while placing third in the MAC Commonwealth League and has posted 10-straight winning seasons. The Crusaders will play the 3 p.m. game Saturday against a Russell Sage squad which went 6-16 a year ago and plays in the New York State Women's Collegiate Athletic Association.
The consolation and championship games are scheduled for 1 and 3 p.m. respectively on Sunday.
Tickets are $5 for any two sessions, or $3 for adults and $2 for students for a single session. Children under the age of 12 will be admitted free. Tickets may be purchased in advance by any member of the Kiwanis Clubs Division 12 South, at the Short Stop Marts in Selinsgrove and Shamokin Dam, the A-Plus Mini Mart in Sunbury, or at the door during the weekend.
Members of Susquehanna's Circle-K chapter, which is a co-ed service group on campus that works within the Kiwanis family on eliminating IDD, will also run the concession stand and contribute all proceeds to the cause. There will also be a game ball raffle -- with fans participating in the raffle during the men's and women' first session also having the chance to win a pair of tickets to Penn State men's and women's Big 10 basketball contests respectively (?).The Pepsi-Cola distributor in Selinsgrove has also donated four special prizes to be won during halftime shootouts of the four games involving Susquehanna teams.
Men's Preview
Host Susquehanna returns all five starters and 10 letterwinners from last season's 15-10 team, which posted the program's seventh-straight winning season under head coach Frank Marcinek, who has the program's highest winning percentage at 137-93 for a .596 clip. The Crusaders also made the MAC playoffs for the seventh time under Marcinek, losing to eventual conference champion and NCAA Final Four Team Wilkes, 80-78, on a controversial buzzer-beater. Topping their returning starters are a pair of junior second-team league All-Stars in center/forward Mike Barrette (Dunmore/Dunmore H.S.) and two-guard Rob Makarewicz (Sugarloaf/Hazleton Area H.S.). Barrette led the team in scoring (15.6 ppg), field goal percentage (53.2%) and rebounding (5.2 per game), ranking ninth in MAC FG clip. Makarewicz, meanwhile, was the team's top long-range threat, ranking second on the team in scoring (13.7 ppg) while finishing seventh in conference three-point percentage (40.8%, 49 of 120). Barrette has been chosen to the All-Tournament Team in this event the past two seasons. The Crusaders are 12-6 in their own tournaments, winning three times (1991, '93, '94).
SUNY-New Paltz has four starters back from last season's team for third-year head coach Joe Kremer, who improved the team from a 7-17 record in his debut season, to 12-13 a year ago. Five-foot-11 senior guard Keith Kenney is the top returning scorer in the tournament field, averaging 23.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game last season. Six-foot-five, 240-pound sophomore forward Robert Jones led the Hawks in rebounds last season at 7.6 per game, also averaging 12.2 points.
Under 11th-year head coach Tony Petrosa, Staten Island would like to get back to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament after earning berths in both 1995 and '96. The Dolphins managed to make it to their conference semifinals last season, despite losing three of their tops seven players for various reasons. One of those players was 5-10 senior guard John Cali, was the CUNY Conference's preseason player of the year, but lost for much of the season with two herniated discs in his back. He's back after averaging 15.2 points and 5.3 assists per game last season. Six-foot-eight senior center Bill Felci is the top returning rebounder in the tournament, averaging 10.2 boards and 14.7 points per game a year ago.
Marietta also returns four starters from last season's squad, which posted the program's third-straight winning season for seventh-year head coach Doug Foote. Like Susquehanna, the Pioneers are balanced, with three returning starters who averaged in double figures. Six-foot-three senior two-guard and co-captain Zach Pauley tops that list at 14.9 points per game and is one of the OAC's most dangerous shooters, shooting 41.7 percent from three-point range as he was an honorable mention All-OAC pick a year ago. Junior Brent Cahill teams with Pauley in the starting backcourt and averaged 12.0 points and 4.4 assists per game last season. Marietta makes its second trip to Susquehanna for the season-opening tournament, dropping a pair of games in 1989.
Women's Preview
With four starters and 10 letterwinners back from a team which won its last five regular-season games and finished 15-9 last year, host Susquehanna is ranked 22nd in the NCAA Division III preseason rankings by Columbus Multimedia, and 24th in the rankings by the DIII News. A pair of returning league All-Stars once again lead the team up front in senior power forward and tri-captain Kristen Venne (Shillington/Governor Mifflin H.S.) and junior center Karyn Kern (Broadheadsville/Pleasant Valley H.S.). A two-year All-American and three-year All-Star, Venne is presently fifth in career scoring at Susquehanna with 1,350 points, ranking fourth in rebounding with 640. She led the team in scoring (18.3 ppg), ranking third in the MAC, and was second in both rebounding (7.7 per game) and field goal percentage (58.1%), ranking 17th nationally in the latter. Kern led the team in rebounding (9.0 per game), FG percentage (61.6%) and blocked shots, finishing second in scoring (15.3 ppg). She was the MAC leader and fourth nationally in field goal percentage. Head coach Mark Hribar is in his 12th year and is the winningest coach in program history with a record of 182-94 (.659). That record includes a 13-5 mark in their own tournament, with five titles (1991, '94, '95, '96, '97) -- including the last four.
Despite Susquehanna's strength, Holy Family would still probably be the pre-tournament favorite - returning three starters and nine letterwinners from last season's 33-5 squad and having two games under its belt before play this weekend. Lady Tiger head coach Michael McLaughlin has compiled an astounding 86-18 record (.827) during his first three seasons at the helm. His team will be led by a pair of senior 1,000-point scorers in 5-9 forward Kim Burski and 5-8 guard Stephanie Daniels. Burski has 1,200 career points as averaged 13.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game last season, while Daniels has 1,075 career points and averaged 10.1 points and 4.8 assists per game. Daniels had 10 points and seven assists in last season's win over the Crusaders.
Thiel has all five starters and eight letterwinners back for 10th-year head coach Gloria Pacsi, who has gradually been turning around the Lady Cat fortunes. The Cats finished third last season in the PAC at 7-3 and return three All-PAC performers from that team. Five-foot-10 junior forward/center Amanda Brown was a first-teamer as she broke the school record for field goal percentage, shooting at 54.0 percent while averaging 9.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Six-foot junior center Danyell Booker is the top returning scorer at 10.2 points per game, also averaging 8.0 rebounds per game, while 5-7 junior guard Tammy Hillrich also averaged double figures in scoring (10.0 ppg) and was the team assist leader (3.9 per game) while earning second-team All-PAC honors.
Former Susquehanna Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Jeanne Neff is the president at Russell Sage, which returns just three letterwinners for second-year head coach Sue Roarke. A pair of guards are the top returnees and co-captains as sophomore Julie Rieger averaged 5.8 points and was second on the team in assists with 40, while junior Heather Alcombright averaged 2.7 points per game while shooting 75.0 percent from the foul line.
The Cause
Kiwanians worldwide have been alerted to IDD as a problem which exists in at least 110 countries, threatening 1.5 billion people. That lack of iodine in the diets of children often results in numerous ailments, with common visible signs being goiters and dwarfism. There is also a high infant mortality rate for those afflicted with IDD.
Along with cooperative governments and UNICEF, Kiwanians worldwide are endeavoring to eradicate IDD by the year 2,000. $75 million is the goal set by Kiwanis International to accomplish the job.
Susquehanna Kiwanis K.I.D.D.'s Basketball Tournament
Fri.-Sun., Nov. 20-22, O.W. Houts Gymnasium
MEN'S:
Friday:
6 p.m. - Staten Island vs. Marietta
8 p.m. - SUNY-New Paltz vs. Susquehanna
Saturday:
6 p.m. - Consolation Game
8 p.m. - Championship Game
WOMEN'S:
Saturday:
1 p.m. - Holy Family vs. Thiel
3 p.m. - Russell Sage vs. Susquehanna
Sunday:
1 p.m. - Consolation Game
3 p.m. - Championship Game
| The James W. Garrett Sports Complex, Publications, and Sports Information |
| Hours: 8:15 - 4:30 M-F (Academic year) 8:00 - 4:00 (Summer) | |
| Phone: 717-372-4119 Fax: 717-372-4048 E-mail: supubrel@susqu.edu |