chili, liddic lead basketball teams
to scotty wood titles

 

They were the MVPs because they scored the MVPs – the Mules’ vital points.

Juniors Alexandra Chili and Spencer Liddic earned MVP honors after carrying the Muhlenberg basketball teams to a sweep of the Scotty Wood Tournament. The women held off Richard Stockton, 71-67, in the championship game, and the men followed with a more comfortable 80-51 win over Gallaudet.

It’s the fifth time both Mule teams won the Scotty Wood title. They also swept in 1997, 1999, 2005 and 2008.

After coasting to a 54-point win against Mount St. Vincent in the first round, the Muhlenberg women found themselves in a dogfight against Richard Stockton. The Ospreys led only once – at 3-2 – and trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half. But they gradually crept back into the game, closing to within four points (51-47) with about 10 minutes left.

That’s when Chili, who was struggling with 2-for-14 shooting, caught fire. Over a span of 3:15, she scored 11 straight Muhlenberg points on three three-pointers and a jumper, to keep Stockton at bay. The Mules led 62-54 after the hot streak and made their free throws down the stretch to put the game away.

Chili finished with 21 points in the championship game and 50 for the tournament. Her four three-pointers brought her career total to 184 – two short of the school record.

Sophomore Alita Zabrecky earned a spot on the all-tournament team by recording 14 points and 9 rebounds in the title game. Senior Alexandra Berlin had 9 points and a career-high 7 assists against the Ospreys.
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Although the men’s championship game was much less competitive, Liddic’s performance was no less memorable. The junior scored a career-high 32 points, tying a Scotty Wood Tournament record with 13 field goals, and pulled down 14 rebounds in only 25 minutes of playing time.

Liddic, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds at halftime, was simply unstoppable at the start of the second half. He scored 14 of Muhlenberg’s first 19 points of the second half before coming to the bench with about 13 minutes left in the game. By that time, the Mules were up by 24 points, and they eventually led by as many as 34.

Defense again played a big role for the Mules, who tied the Scotty Wood Tournament record for largest margin of victory in the championship game (set in an 89-60 win against Moravian in 1991). Muhlenberg held the Bison to 30.6-percent shooting and dominated the boards, 49-26. And it didn't hurt that the Mules shot 64 percent in the second half.

Joining Liddic on the all-tournament team were freshman Austin Curry and senior Evan Tozer. Curry scored nine of his 14 points in the first 3:26 of the championship game, helping the Mules jump out to an early lead. Tozer had an outstanding tournament, with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in the two games.
Click here for box score.
Click here for complete stats.