NOVEMBER 12, 2015

KING'S MEN'S BASKETBALL TO OPEN SEASON FRIDAY VS. PSU-ABINGTON

WILKES-BARRE  –  The King's College men's basketball team will open the 2015-16 season on Friday when the Monarchs host Penn State Abington at 7:00 p.m. in Scandon Gymnasium.

Fans unable to attend can follow he game online at the following links...

Live Video:  http://livestream.com/kingscollege

LiveStats:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/kings/mbball/

WRKC Radio/88.5 FM:  http://wrkc.kings.edu/list/current.html

King's, which comes off a 15-11 record and a spot in the Freedom Conference Tournament semi-finals a year ago, will embark on a 25-game schedule under the leadership of 16th year head coach J.P. Andrejko, who enters the season with a 224-147 mark at King's.

 The Monarchs were picked second, along with Delaware Valley College, in the Freedom Conference Pre-Season Coaches Poll.  PSU-Abington, meanwhile, is looking to improve on its 10-17 record from last season in which the Lions advanced to the semi-finals of the Northeastern Athletic Conference Tournament.

 

King's returns four of its top-five scorers from last season and is led by junior forward Dan Rutecki, a returning All-Freedom Conference selection and the 2014 league "Rookie of the Year". Rutecki enjoyed an outstanding sophomore year as he led the team in scoring and rebounding with 14.7 points and 6.9 boards while shooting 50.2 percent from the field and 85.8 percent from the charity stripe.  Sophomore forward Chris Fazzini also returns after starting all 26 games during his freshman campaign. Fazzini tallied 11.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per-game.

 

Junior guard John Fazzini, the older brother of Chris, averaged 8.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per-game while adding 30 three-pointers and 3.0 assists each contest. Senior center Tom Heston enters his fourth year as a starter and averaged 6.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and a team-high 60 assists and 20 blocked shots a year ago.  Senior Connor Hughes is expected challenge for the starting point-guard position after averaging 3.3 points with 15 assists, and 26 rebounds off the bench.

 

Also returning is junior guard Nate Oliver who is the team's top long-range threat. Last season Oliver averaged 4.0 points as a reserve and made 16 three-pointers.  In the paint, King's welcomes back junior power-forward Derek Wilkins who averaged 4.3 points and 2.6 rebounds off the bench before suffering a season-ending injury after just eight games.  Sophomore 6-foot-8 center Mike Prociak saw limited action last season but will likely see an expanded role this season.

Andrejko is also looking for a larger contribution from 6-foot-4 junior John Dini who saw limited time last season but has dropped 20 pounds and has been effective in the pre-season as a stretch-forward. Sophomore guards Dan Angelo, Noah Barofski, and Sean O'Brien will look to provide depth in the backcourt.

Andrejko is also expecting large contributions from freshman guard Jake Barber, who averaged over 17 points per-game as a senior and scored 1,443 points at nearby Hanover Area High School.

Penn State Abington is led by returning leading scorer Dequan Jackson, a 6-foot-4 junior guard who averaged 19.6 points and 5.3 rebounds. Six-foot-three senior guard Devin Jones is also back after averaging 13.4 points and 7.9 rebounds each contest.

After its opener with PSU-Abington, the Monarchs will travel to meet Penn State Hazleton on Tuesday in another 7:00 p.m. matchup.