DECEMBER 2, 2008
KING'S MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM SET TO RENEW RIVALRY WITH WILKES
(Young Monarchs Look to Upend Veteran Colonels in Freedom Conference Opener)
WILKES-BARRE -- A youthful King's College men's basketball team will open MAC Freedom Conference play on Wednesday when the Monarchs host cross-town rival Wilkes University at 8:00 p.m. in Scandlon Gymnasium.
Meanwhile the King's and Wilkes Student Athlete Advisory Committees will be teaming up to hold a food drive. Both adults and students will be asked to donate a minimum of one canned food product in lieu of paid admission. Tickets are set at $4.00 for adults and $2.00 for students.
The game will also be available on the Internet through LiveStats, a statistical feed that provides the viewer live game statistics and play-by-play. LiveStats is available at the following link:
http://departments.kings.edu/athletics/sportsinfo/Live_Stats/xlive.htm.
King's, which graduated eight seniors from its back-to-back Freedom Conference championship teams in 2007 and 2008, enter the game with a surprising 4-1 mark following a 73-64 loss to Albright last week. Wilkes, meanwhile, entered the season as the favorite in the Freedom Conference pre-season coaches poll. The Colonels stand at 2-2 following a 65-53 non-conference loss at Susquehanna University last Tuesday.
The Monarchs have started two freshmen in each of the team's five games thus far while a total of three rookies stand among the top six players in minutes played per-game. The results have been positive in the early going as King's won both the Ramada Inn/Monarch Classic, along with the Susquehanna University Invitational the first two weekends of the season.
King's has been paced by sophomore center Kevin Conroy, the team's lone returning starter from last year. The 6-foot-5 Conroy averages 12.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per-game thus far. Junior guard Mike Wagner has tallied 12.0 points and 2.2 rebounds while making a team-high 12 three-pointers. Junior forward Jim Schule adds 11.8 points and 3.6 rebounds while freshman shooting guard and team sixth-man Nick Reisig follows with 9.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists with 10 three-pointers coming off the bench.
Freshman forward Chase McGowan contributes 7.0 points and 6.0 rebounds while sophomore center Harry Schlichter has posted 7.0 points and 3.4 rebounds. Freshman point-guard Kyle Stackhouse chips in with 5.0 points, 5.0 assists, and 2.8 assists. The Monarchs are averaging 74.0 points per-game while allowing 66.4 each contest.
Wilkes, meanwhile, is led by reigning Freedom Conference “Rookie of the Year” Chris DeRojas. The 5-foot-8 sophomore guard is averaging 22.0 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per-game while canning 12 three-pointers. Junior forward Tom Kresge follows with 18.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. Senior forward Steve Kline adds 7.8 rebounds, and a team-high 4.3 assists. Junior forward Anthony Gabriel chips in with 9.8 points and 6.3 rebounds. The Colonels won their first two games of the season before dropping their last two contests.
