For Immediate Release – 1/16/19 - #080
Tanner's Career Performance Lifts King's Men Past Wilkes, 81-53
WILKES-BARRE, PA (January 16, 2019) – Sophomore guard Noah Tanner chalked up a career-game for the King's College men's basketball team Wednesday, registering 16 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and five steals as the Monarchs breezed by their crosstown rival Wilkes University 81-53 in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play in a raucous McGrane Gymnasium.
The Monarchs, coming off a big win on Saturday against FDU-Florham, picked up their first back-to-back wins of the season with the victory on Wednesday thanks to a strong defensive game plan and hot shooting throughout the game. King's went to a zone defense, which disrupted the normally potent Wilkes offensive unit which came into game averaging over 81 points per contest.
In fact, King's held the Colonels to 29.5 percent from the field, a season-low for Wilkes while the 53 points was also a season-worst for the Colonels (11-5, 3-2 MAC Freedom). A hot start got the crowd into the game, as the Monarchs (4-12, 2-3 MAC Freedom) scored 16 of the game's first 18 points, capped by a layup by Jake Pawliczak with 15:14 to go in the first half.
King's would grow its lead up to 19 just before the half as junior Tyler Millan hit the fourth three-pointer of the opening stanza for King's to put the Monarchs up 45-26 at the break. King's shot 50 percent (17-34) in the first half, as Andrew Hudak and Tanner each had nine points while Joe Lonardi came off the bench to make 3-of-5 from the field for seven points. King's also outscored Wilkes 22-6 in the paint in the first half.
In the second half, King's built its lead up to 28 points on a pair of triples from senior James Willis to make the score 63-35. The visitors would trim the Monarch lead under 20 points at 7:05 of the game as Wilkes pulled to with 18 at 65-47 on a Sean Coller three-pointer, but King's responded with another 16-4 run over the next four minutes to take its biggest lead at 30 points with 2:12 to go and put the game away.
The Monarchs were just as strong in the second half from the field, going 14-of-26 from the floor to shoot 53.8 percent in the period. King's was 5-of-11 from deep in the stanza, finishing 9-of-25 (36.0 percent) from behind the arc on the evening. The 51.7 percent overall for the game was King's second-highest shooting percentage of the season, while its rebounding margin of 19 was a season-best.
The 16 points for Tanner tied for the second-most in game this season, as he was 4-of-9 from the floor and 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Tanner also posted the career-highs of 10 rebounds and nine assists, while the five thefts also tied his career best.
Hudak had another strong game for the Monarchs, chalking up 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Lonardi added a game and career-high of 18 points off the bench as he played a career-high 30 minutes and knocked down 8-of-11 from the field. Pawliczak was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and finished with 10 points despite being mired in foul trouble much of the game.
The three-point quartet of Kevin Hunter, JJ Glinsky, Millan and Willis all posted six points as well for King's, as all four hit a pair of three-pointers for the Monarchs. King's led for 39:47 of the game, with the only time not leading was the 13 seconds it took to score on the opening possession. KC chalked up a 36-16 edge in points in the paint, while the Monarch bench outscored Wilkes 32-14.
Wilkes got 15 points from Rob Pecorelli, as he also added eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Mark Mullins chipped in with 10 points, and Tommy Bowen and Marcus Robinson both totaled seven points apiece. The win for King's was its first over the Colonels in the last seven meetings, dating back to 2015.
The Monarchs head to Doylestown, PA for a road contest with the Aggies of Delaware Valley University Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. in more conference play.
--MONARCHS--