JANUARY 30, 2015

KING'S BASKETBALL TEAMS ENTER SECOND ROUND OF FREEDOM CONFERENCE GAMES WITH SATURDAY DOUBLEHEADER AT DESALES

Women's Game Media Notes   l   Men's Game Media Notes

WILKES-BARRE —After wrapping up the first cycle of Freedom Conference games on Wednesday night, the King's College women's and men's basketball teams will begin the second cycle of league games Saturday with an important doubleheader at DeSales University in Center Valley.

King's women will face DeSales at 1:00 p.m. in Billera Hall while the men's contest will follow at 3:00 p.m.  Both games will be televised live on Service Electric Television on channel 50.  The games will be re-aired Sunday on Service Electric Cable channel 2.

Fans may also follow the games on LiveStats on the following links:

Live Video (both games: http://athletics.desales.edu/watch/?Live=52

Women's Game:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/desales/wbball/

Men's Game:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/desales/mbball/

Both games loom large in the eight-team Freedom Conference playoff race as the top-four teams will qualify for the post-season tournament along with the NCAA Tournament automatic berth awarded to the league champion.

King's women enter the matchup with an overall record of 10-8 and stand at 4-3 in the Freedom Conference following a 68-59 road win over Wilkes Wednesday night.  DeSales stands at 10-8 and 4-3 after a 76-55 loss at Eastern Wednesday night. The teams are deadlocked with Delaware Valley in a three-way tie for third as the Aggies are 9-9 and 4-3.  KIng's fell to DeSales  57-51 at home January 14 in Scandlon Gym.  The Lady Monarchs downed Delaware Valley 89-72 in its Freedom Conference opener back on December 3. Defending Division III national champion FDU-Florham holds down the top spot at 17-0 and 6-0 while Eastern is second with records of 14-4 and 6-1.

Sophomore guard Kayla Feairheller tops King's with 13.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 32 three-points after a 24-point effort against Wilkes. Senior forward Marissa Manning follows with 11.8 points and 7.2 rebounds while sophomore point-guard Kasey Seitz adds 8.6 points, 3.0 rebounds,  3.0 assists, and 28 three-pointers.

Junior forward Jennifer Fabian contributes 7.1 points and 6.4 rebounds while freshman center Olivia Hoffman has posted 5.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 50 blocks. Junior forward Tara Zdancewicz chips in with 4.7 points and 3.7 rebounds. The Lady Monarchs average 60.6 points each game while yielding 67.1.

For DeSales, sophomore center Morgan McCollian tops the squad with 15.8 points and 8.1 rebounds. Sophomore guard Megan Baird follows with 10.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and a team-high 37 three-pointers. Senior guard Mikelyn Mackavage adds 5.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 20 treys while junior forward Kelly Anthony has contributed 4.9 points and 7.2 boards.  The Bulldogs average 63.3 points while allowing 61.1 each contest.


The King's men stand at 10-8 overall and 3-4 in the Freedom Conference after a 59-54 loss at Wilkes on Wednesday. King's is currently tied for fifth-place in the league with Eastern, which is 7-11 and 3-4 but owns a win over King's in the team's first match two weeks ago.  DeSales, meanwhile, stands second in the conference at 13-5 and 5-2 following a 90-77 win at Eastern Wednesday night.  King's and DeSales played on January 14 with the Monarchs posting a 73-60 win in arguably the team's best performance of the season.

Pacing the Monarchs is sophomore forward Dan Rutecki who posts team-highs of 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per-game while shooting 51.6 (83-161) percent from the field and 86.9 (93-107) percent from the foul line.  Freshman guard Chris Fazzini follows with 10.8 points and 3.3 rebounds.

Junior center Tom Heston adds 6.9 points and 5.4 rebounds while freshman forward Dan Borner has tallied 6.8 points and 4.2 boards. Freshman guard John Fazzini chips in with 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds.  The Monarchs are scoring 62.9 points per-game while allowing 62.9 points each contest.

For DeSales, reigning Freedom Conference "Player of the Week" Cody Deal, a junior forward, tops the squad with 16.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while making 30 three-pointers. Sophomore guard Brian Laird follows with 11.7 points and a team-high 46 three-pointers. Freshman guard Aaron Burton adds 10.2 points and 6.4 rebounds while sophomore guard Kuity Slanger and sophomore forward Ryan Callahan chip in with 7.9 points and 7.4 points per-game respectively.

After the matchup with DeSales, both King's teams will return home Wednesday night with a doubleheader against FDU-Florham.  The Lady Monarchs will face the defending national champion Devils at 6:00 p.m. while the men's game is slated for 8:00 p.m.