Wednesday, January 30, 2002

MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH JIM WALKER EARNS 300TH VICTORY AT MORAVIAN

BETHLEHEM, PA --- Moravian head coach Jim Walker earned his 300th victory at the school with an 86-74 victory over Albright College in Commonwealth Conference action Wednesday night.

The victory lifts Moravian's record to 13-7 overall and 5-4 in the Commonwealth Conference, a game ahead of Susquehanna University for the final playoff berth, while Albright falls to 4-16 overall and 2-7 in the Commonwealth Conference.

Walker has a record of 300-246 in 22 seasons at Moravian and he has an overall record of 315-256 over 23 years of collegiate coaching. Walker becomes just the second Moravian coach to earn 300 career victories in one sport at the school. Harvey Gillespie earned 352 baseball wins from 1935 to 1974.

The Greyhounds trailed 28-21 with just under eight minutes left in the first half before going on a 24-12 run to end the half with a 45-40 advantage. Moravian led by as many as 12 points in the second half (66-54 with 8:50 remaining).

One of the keys in the game for Moravian was its free throw shooting. The Greyhounds, ranked second in the nation at 77.9 percent coming into the game, made their first 19 free throws of the contest before finishing 20 of 22. The first miss came with just 50 seconds left in the game. 

Freshman forward Brandon Zaleski (Hackettstown, NJ/Hackettstown HS) led five Moravian scorers in double figures with a game high 25 points. Sophomore guard Steve Weiler (Edgewater Park, NJ/Burlington City HS) added 12 points while senior guard/forward Doug Spadt (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS) added 11 points and a game high 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Lucas Malishchak (Wanamie, PA/Nanticoke HS) added 11 points, four assists and three steals while junior guard Kevin Hall (Mount Pocono, PA/Pocono Mountain HS) had ten points. 

Zaleski pulled down eight rebounds and added three steals in the victory while senior forward Mike Frew (Glen Ridge, NJ/Glen Ridge HS) had nine rebounds and six points. Junior forward Ken Greb (Mount Holly, NJ/Rancocas Valley Regional HS) added five rebounds to help Moravian post a 39-35 advantage on the board.

 For Albright, freshman Shawn Sweigart scored a team high 20 points on eight of 13 shooting while freshman Nick Lambros netted a career high 17 points with a five-for-five performance behind the three-point line and two free throws.