JANUARY 2, 2014

KING'S MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM SET FOR 3RD ANNUAL CROSS-COUNTY CHALLENGE

Directions to the University of Scranton:  
http://athletics.scranton.edu/General_Information/Directions_To_Athletic_Facilities

WILKES-BARRE — The King's College men's basketball team will return to the court for the first time since December 15 when the Monarchs compete in the third-annual Cross County Challenge Friday and Saturday at the John Long Center on the campus of the University of Scranton.

The tournament features two colleges from Luzerne County (King's and Wilkes) playing in round-robin format against two colleges from Lackawanna County (Scranton and Marywood).  On Friday, Wilkes will face Marywood in the 5:00 p.m. Opener while King's plays host Scranton at 7:00 p.m.  On Saturday, King's squares off with Marywood at 2:00 p.m. while Wilkes and Scranton play at 4:00 p.m.

Ticket prices at the Long Center are listed at $5 for adults and $3 for both students and senior citizens.

Friday's games will offer LiveStats as well as the WQMY TV broadcast locally.  You can watch the games on Service Electric Cable Channel 4 in Standard Definition or channel 504 in HD. The games are also on Dish Network and Direct TV HD Channel 53, as well as Comcast Cable Channel 811 in HD or Channel 11 in SD. In addition, the WQMY broadcast of both games can be seen online at the link below, which will be made live 10 minutes before the first game.

LiveStats:  http://athletics.scranton.edu/livestats/landing

WQMY TV Internet Webcast (Friday games only): 
http://www.myfoxnepa.com/category/218785/livestream

King's enters the event with a 5-4 record after going 1-1 at the Monarch Invitational on December 14-15. King's last game was a 95-71 victory over Berkely College (NY) after the Monarchs fell to Susquehanna 73-67 a day earlier.

King's has been paced by the play of senior small forward Kyle Hammonds who owns averages of 16.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists while making 16 three-pointers. Senior point-guard Joe Caffrey follows with 12.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 15 steals, and nine three-pointers. Sophomore center Tom Heston adds 7.4 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting54.3 (25-46) percent from the field. Junior forward Tim O'Shea comes off the bench to contribute 6.9 points and 2.9 rebounds while freshman Dan Rutecki has tallied 6.7 points and 4.3 rebound as a part-time starter thus far.

Also for King's, junior center Pat O'Donnell has posted 6.0 points and 3.1 rebounds while freshman guard Nate Oliver averages 4.9 points with nine three pointers. Freshman power forward Derek Wilkins and sophomore guard Connor Hughes have scored 4.1 and 3.5 points per-game respectively while freshman center Christian Skrepenak chips in with 3.0 and 3.9 rebounds points.  The Monarchs are averaging 75.9 points per-game while allowing 68.1 each contest.

Scranton is paced by junior guard Ross Danzig who tops the squad with a 23.4 points per-game average with 7.0 rebounds and 19 three-pointers. Sophomore center Brendan Boken follows with 13.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 17 blocked shots. Senior guard Tommy Morgan adds 12.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists while junior guard Justin Klingman has tallied 9.9 points with 18 three-pointers.  Senior guard Michael Barr chips in with 9.4 points and 2.7 rebounds with 21 treys.  Scranton averages 81.6 points per-game while allowing 74.1.  Scranton has posted victories over King's in each of the last two Cross County Challenge meetings, including a 81-66 win last season.

Marywood is currently 3-5 on the year after dropping a 89-65 decision to Stevenson University in the Pacer's last game on December 18. Junior guard Shane Kellaher leads Marywood with 13.4 points and 3.3 rebounds while making 17 three-pointers.  Junior center Kendall Harris adds 13.3 points and 6.1 rebounds while senior guard Ryan Corrigan follows with 10.1 points and 2.5 rebounds. Freshman forward Matthew Clark contributes 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds, while Shane Lettland chips in with 7.4 points and 3.9 boards. The Pacers average 69.0 points per-game while yielding 71.4.

Wilkes, meanwhile, is 5-4 after going 1-1 at the Monarch Classic December 14-15, defeating Berkley 67-73 before falling to Susquehanna 66-53.  Senior forward Pat Furst tops the squad with 14.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per-game. Sophomore guard Alex Wizar follows with 14.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and has hit on 24 three-pointers. Senior forward Nic Wilkens adds 9.0 points and 4.8 rebounds, while junior guard Cameron Hinkle has tallied 8.0 points and 5.0 boards. Sophomore forward Steve Stravinski has posted 7.8 points and 4,0 rebounds while sophomore forward Jimmy Brackett chips in with 7.1 points and 2.7 rebounds. The Colonels average 71.7 points per-game while allowing 70.1 each contest.

After the event the Monarchs will return to th court Monday with a 7:00 p.m. non-conference game against Muhlenberg College in Allentown. The Monarchs then return home January 11 with a 3:00 p.m. home matchup against Penn State Wilkes-Barre.