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JANUARY 29, 2016

KING'S BASKETBALL TEAMS HOSTING DESALES SATURDAY IN CRUCIAL FREEDOM CONFERENCE DOUBLEHEADER

WILKES-BARRE  --  With the first cycle of MAC Freedom Conference games complete, the second half of the regular-season will begin Saturday when the King's College women's and men's basketball teams host DeSales University in a critical league doubleheader in Scandlon Gymnasium.  The women top off the action at 1:00 p.m. with the men to follow at 3:00 p.m.

Ticket prices are $5 for adults, $2 for seniors, $2 for non-King's students showing I.D.  In addition, children under age-six shall be admitted free.  King's College students attend free at all ticketed events with the presentation of their current student I.D.

Fans can follow the games online at the following links:

Video (both games): http://livestream.com/kingscollege

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

LiveStats (Women): http://www.sidearmstats.com/kings/wbball/

LiveStats (Men): http://www.sidearmstats.com/kings/mbball/

As Freedom Conference teams enter the second stage of the regular-season, both King's women's and men's teams have some work to do to climb the conference standings.  King's women's team (11-7) is currently tied for third-place with Manhattanville and Delaware Valley College with 4-3 records.  The top four teams in the regular-season qualify for the Freedom Conference Tournament. The DeSales women, meanwhile, stand atop the league at 13-5 overall and 6-1 in conference play and own a 76-65 victory over King's in the team's first meeting in Center Valley on January 13. After facing DeSales a tough stretch of games continues for the day Monarchs on Wednesday when King's travels to meet defending conference champion and second-place FDU-Florham in Madison, NJ.

After an 80-70 loss to Wilkes on Wednesday, the King's men are in a precarious position after three straight conference losses, including two at home. The Monarchs (8-10) are in sixth-place in the league standings with a 2-4 Freedom Conference mark and a third straight home conference loss would be extremely damaging to King's playoff hopes.  The task will not be easy against a DeSales squad which is second in the league at 13-5 and 4-2 and defeated King's 72-70 on a bucket with 0:03 left in the first meeting at Billera Hall.

King's women are paced by senior forward Jennifer Fabian who averages 13.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per-game while making 16 three-pointers. Junior small-forward Kayla Feairheller follows with 11.0 points and 3.4 rebounds while converting 30 three-pointers. Senior forward Tara Zdancewicz has been a spark off the bench with 7.5 points and 4.2 rebounds while junior point-guard Kasey Seitz adds 6.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists while connecting on 20 three-pointers. Sophomore 6-foot-2 center Olivia Hoffman has tallied 5.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 67 blocked shots after setting a King's school-record of 10 blocked shots against Wilkes.

Freshman guard Cayle Spencer has posted 4.3 points and 2.4 boards with 15 treys while senior point-guard Sara Krupinski has registered 3.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists. Sophomore guard Rachael DeTore also averages 3.9 points while freshman forward Alexis Steber chips in with 3.8 points and 2.9 rebounds.  King's averages 62 points while allowing 57.8 each contest.

DeSales women, meanwhile, has won 10 of its last 11 games and comes off a 71-52 win over Eastern University on Wednesday.  The Bulldogs have been led by standout junior center Morgan McCollian who averages 16.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per-game and posted an 18-point, 12-rebound effort in the team's first meeting this season. Senior forward Jen Napolitano follows with 9.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 35 three-pointers. Freshman guard Morgan Birmelin adds 8.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists while sophomore guard Kaitlin Kelly contributes with 8.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and a team-high 36 three-pointers. Freshman guard Katie Miller tallies 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds while junior guard Megan Baird chips in with 5.0 points and came off the bench to score 17 points against King's in the first game. The Bulldogs average 69.8 points while yielding 58.8 per-game.

For the King's men junior forward Dan Rutecki tops the squad with 12.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. Senior center Tom Heston follows with 11.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. Sophomore forward Chris Fazzini adds 10.4 points and 3.1 rebounds while older brother John Fazzini contributes 10.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 22 three-pointers.

Junior guard Nate Oliver has posted 8.5 points with 28 three-pointers while freshman guard Jake Barber has tallied 8.2 points and 2.3 boards. Senior guard Connor Hughes averages 6.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 14 three-pointers while junior forward John Dini has registered 3.9 points with 13 three-pointers. Junior post player Derek Wilkins chips in with 3.6 points and 3.1 rebounds.  King's has averaged 74.2 points per-game while yielding 71.5 each contest.

The DeSales men have won six of their last seven games after an 81-75 victory over Eastern University Wednesday night. Senior forward Cody Deal leads the Bulldogs with 13.7 points and 4.4 rebounds while connecting on 40 three-pointers. Junior guard Kuity Slanger follows with 11.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists. Junior guard Brian Laird adds 9.8 points with 33 three-pointers and torched King's for 23 points with five treys in the first meeting.  Sophomore guard Aaron Burton has posted 9.6 points and 6.2 rebounds while 6-foot-8 junior center Ryan Callahan also tallies 9.6 points with 4.1 boards. Sophomore guard Brandon Bridy chips in with 8.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists.  DeSales averages 77.4 points while allowing 72.1 each game.