NOVEMBER 27, 2016

KING'S MEN'S BASKETBALL OUTLASTS MARYWOOD 76-73 TO FINISH CROSS COUNTY CHALLENGE AT 1-1

WILKES-BARRE -- The King's College men's basketball team overcame a three-point deficit over the final 7:24 of the game as the Monarchs won a back-and-forth 76-73 victory over Marywood University on the final day of the sixth annual Cross County Challenge Sunday at Wilkes University.

With the win, King's improved to 4-2 while the Pacers slipped to 0-5.

King's started off the game with a 9-2 spurt thanks to four points from Andrew Hudak, a three-pointer by John Fazzini, and a driving lay-up from Chris Fazzini.

Marywood countered with a 13-2 run to take a 15-11 lead  after a lay-up by Jeremy Ringland and a pair of free throws from Dexter Shy with 10:56 left in the half. The Pacers would eventually build a 32-24 advantage with 4:40 to play in the half after two foul shots from Connor Shroyer.

But the Monarchs put together a 10-2 surge, keyed by back-to-back three-pointers by Chris and John Fazzini, the latter coming with 0:17 on the clock to send the game into the half deadlocked at 34-34.

In the second half, King's started out much like it did in the first half with a 9-4 spurt on the strength of four points by Rutecki and a three-pointer from Chris Fazzini to give the Monarchs a 43-36 lead with 16:13 to play. 

After a Pacer turnover, Connor Callejas, who transferred to King's from Marywood in August, buried a three-pointer to continue the onslaught. A Rutecki inside bucket with 15:10 remaining pushed the King's lead to 48-36.

Marywood, however, refused to go away and responded with a 18-4 run to recapture the lead at 54-52 after a pair of free throws by James Curley with 9:31 on the clock.

With Marywood maintaining a 58-53 lead, King's Jake Barber would hit a three-pointer and Callejas canned back-to-back treys to put King's back on top 64-58 with 6:22 remaining,

Trailing 70-65, Marywood used a jumper by James Curley to cut the lead to 70-67 but Rutecki made a pair of foul shots to give King's a 72-65 advantage with 1:39 left. The Pacers closed to within 72-69 on a Shroyer driving lay-up but Callejas made good on two foul shots with 0:23 to go to put King's ahead 74-69.

After Ringland drained a three-pointer to cut the King's lead to 74-72 with 0:08 left, the Pacers were forced to foul and put Barber on the line with 0:06 left. The Monarch sophomore missed both shots, giving the Pacers a chance to tie or win the game. 

Curley was fouled going to the basket with 0:01 left and made the first attempt to bring Marywood within 74-73. But Curley missed the second shot and Rutecki rebounded and was immediately fouled with three-tenths of a second on the clock. Rutecki would make both attempts to set the final score.

Rutecki led King's with 18 points, eight rebounds, and three assists while Callejas followed with 13 points with a trio of three-pointers against his former teammates. Hudak added 12 points and five rebounds while Chris Fazzini contributed 12 points. John Fazzini chipped in with six points, eight assists, and five rebounds.

Marywood was led by Shroyer and Curley with 20 points apiece while Ringland added 13.

King's will next host the FNCB/Monarch Classic  Friday and Saturday in Scandlon Gymnasium. The Monarchs will face Gwynedd-Mercy University Friday at 8:00 p.m. while Trinity University (Ct.) and Susquehanna will play in the tournament opener at 6:00 p.m. The consolation and championship games are set for Saturday at 1PM and 3PM respectively.