NOVEMBER 29, 2015
KING'S CAGERS DOWN MARYWOOD 84-69 IN CROSS COUTY CHALLENGE FINALE
SCRANTON -- Freshman Jake Barber netted a career-high 24 points and the King's College men's basketball team outscored host Marywood University 51-35 in the second half as the Monarchs posted a 84-69 victory on the final day of the fifth-annual Cross County Challenge Sunday at the Insalaco Center.
With the win King's improved to 5-2 while Marywood slipped to 3-3.
King's trailed by as many as nine points on two occasions in the first half, the last coming with 8:12 on the clock after a driving lay-up from Cameron Dean set the score at 21-12. But the Monarchs used a 9-0 spurt thanks to four straight straight points from Barber, a three-pointer by John Fazzini, and an inside basket by Dan Rutecki to tie the game at 21-21 with 5:43 left in the half.
With the score tied 27-27 with 3:37 on the clock, Marywood used a 7-0 run to take a 34-27 lead after a Tip Schwartz three-pointer at the 2:10 mark. But King's outscored the Pacers 6-0 the rest of the way on four points from John Fazzini and two by Rutecki as the Monarchs closed to within 34-33 at the break.
In the second half Marywood extended the lead to 42-37 after a jumper by Shane Letthand with 16:42 remaining in the contest. But the Monarchs countered with a decisive 21-4 run, capped by a Nate liver three-pointer as King's took a 58-46 lead with 9:03 to play.
Marywood closed to within 60-53 on a Kendall Farrell trey with 7:05 left, but King's answered with a pair of free throws by Connor Hughes and s three-pointer from Chris Fazzini to up the Monarch lead to 65-53 at the 5:35 mark.
After the Pacers cut the lead to 10 with 4:50 to go, King's rattled off the the next eight points thanks to five straight from John Fazzini, and a pair of foul shots from Barber to push the King's advantage to 72-55 with 2:37 on the clock. Marywood would come no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
Barber, who earned a spot on the all-tournament team, reached his personal milestone by making 9-of-11 shots from the field and fix-of-eight from the foul line. John Fazzini followed with 22 points, five rebounds, and four assists while Rutecki added 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Chris Fazzini contributed nine points and three rebounds while Hughes tallied eight point and two assists. Tom Heston registered four points and a team-high eight boards while Nate Oliver chipped in with five points.
Callejas led Marywood with 18 points while Dean followed with 10.
King's returns to action Wednesday when the Monarchs open their Freedom Conference schedule in Doylestown with an 8:00 p.m. matchup with Delaware Valley College.