MEN'S BASKETBALL AT SUSQUEHANNA INVITATIONAL
WILKES-BARRE--- The King's men's basketball team will be traveling to Selinsgrove, PA to face SUNY-Morrisville in the opening round of the 20th Annual Pepsi/ Weis Markets Susquehanna Tip-Off Tournament.
King's is set to play at 6:00pm Friday at the Orlando W. Houts Gymnasium, located in the James W. Garrett Sports Complex on the campus of Susquehanna University. Penn College of Technology will face host Susquehanna in the other semi-final pairing at 8:00 p.m.
On Saturday, the consolation game is set for 1:00 p.m. with the championship game to follow at 3:00 p.m.
Ticket prices are set at $3 for adults, $1 for students and children under six years of age will be admitted free of charge. Tickets are valid for one day. Additional tickets must be purchased the following day.
After winning their opening tournament, the Monarchs currently hold a 2-0 record. In the championship game of the Ramada Inn Monarch Tip-Off Tournament, King's young squad was able to stun 23rd ranked Widener and down the Pride 80-67.
The Monarchs are led by sophomore forward Kevin Conroy who has tallied 26 points and 10 rebounds in two games. Conroy is 5-of-13 from the field, for a 38.5 shooting percentage. Freshman forward Chase McGowan enjoyed an impressive collegiate debut, scoring 22 points and currently leads the with18 rebounds while earning most valuable player honors at the Monarch Invitational. McGowan is also shooting 83.3 percent from the line, going 10-for-12. Junior Mike Wagner stepped up huge early in the season, scoring 22 points, including 6-of-10 from three-point range and 8-13 overall for a 61.5 field-goal percentage. Junior captain Jim Schule netted 19 points, going 6-of-16 from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe and grabbing seven boards.
As a team, King's has outscored their opponents 154-132 and is shooting 45.1 percent from the floor. In three-point range, the Monarchs are 15-of-37 for 40.5 percent.
Morrisville is 0-1 thus far after dropping a 54-52 verdict to Clarkson University, a team King's defeated in the opening round of the 2008 NCAA Division III national tournament. The Mustangs were paced by sophomore guard Stephen Grant, who had 16 points and went 6-of-9 from the floor and grabbed four steals. Second in scoring is freshman Elonzo Wilson, who picked up 10 points and went 2-for-2 from the line. Sophomore Andre Simon went 4-for-8 from the field to pick up eight points and four rebounds. As a team, Morrisville posted a 38.5 shooting-percentage and was 37.5 percent from beyond the three-point line.
Host Susquehanna, meanwhile, is 2-0 after winning the White Rose City Classic at York College last week. The Crusaders defeated Misericordia 76-67 before downing Neumann 59-57 in the title game.
Penn Tech, meanwhile, is 2-1 following a 98-78 loss to Wilkes University on Tuesday.
Following the championship game, a five-man all-tournament team will be selected and an MVP will also be named.
