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DECEMBER 12, 2015

KING'S CALLS TO TRINITY IN CONSOLATION GAME, SUSQUEHANNA WINS MONARCH CLASSIC

WILKES-BARRE — Susquehanna University claimed the 2015 FNC Bank Monarch Classic Saturday afternoon with a 90-61 victory over the Apprentice School of Virginia. In the consolation game, King's fell to Trinity College (Ct.) 90-63.

With the loss, KIng's fell to 6-5 while Trinity, ranked 14th in this week's D3Hoops.com Division III National Poll, improved to 5-3.

King's had great difficulty playing without leading scorer Dan Rutecki (12.1 ppg) and third leading scorer John Fazzini (10.4 ppg), who both missed the tournament with injuries.  King's fell behind early 13-2 to Trinity after 5:31 and never made a serious threat.  After trailing by 21 points at 28-7 with 8:39 left in the first half the Monarchs managed to close to within 13 as a Derek Wilkins jumper cut the score to 42-29 at the break.
 

King's would continue to trail in the second half and used a three-pointer from Nate Oliver and two foul shots from Chris Fazzini to come to within 12 points at 62-50 with 10:47 to go. But Trinity answered with a decisive 25-9 run over the next 6:04 to build a 87-59 lead with 4:43 left in the contest.

Trinity shot 50 (34-68) percent from the field and scorched the nets from three-point range, making 54.5 (12-22) percent of its long range shots.  The Monarchs, meanwhile, shot just 30.6 (15-49) percent of its shots and were just 1-of-16 from three-point range. The Monarchs did much of its work at the foul line, making 32-of-45 free throw attempts.

All-tournament selection Eric Gendron led Trinity with 17 points and dour rebounds while Jaquann Starks followed with 15 points and four assists.  Rick Naylor added 13 points and four assists.

For King's, all-tournament choice Chris Fazzini tallied 18 points while Oliver followed with 11 points. Jake Barber had eight points while Tom Heston posted seven points and six rebounds.

King's will now be idle over Christmas break until January 4 when the Monarchs travel to play Muhlenberg College. King's next home game will be January 9 against Penn State Wilkes-Barre.



SUSQUEHANNA HANDLES APPRENTICE TO CLAIM MONARCH TOURNEY TITLE

WILKES-BARRE — Susquehanna University used a balanced attack and exceptional ball movement to post a 90-61 victory over the Apprentice College in the championship game of the FNC Bank/Monarch Classic Saturday at King's College's Scandlon Gymnasium.

Susquehanna improved to 9-0 with the win while Apprentice slipped to 5-5.

The teams played on even terms early on as Apprentice held a 19-18 lead after a Jason Deitrich jumper with 9:31 left in the first half.  But Susquehanna got hot and went on a 13-4 run to build a 32-22 lead with 6:40 on the clock after a Brandon Hedley three-pointer. After the Builders closed to 32-27 with 4:11 to go after a 5-0 spurt. Susquehanna exploded, ending the half with a 20-6 run to take a 52-33 lead into the locker room.

The Crusaders continued the onslaught in the second half, opening up a 33-point lead when a pair of foul shots from Steve Weidlich pushed the score to 68-35 with 16:00 to play.  The Builders came no closer than 27 points the rest of the way.

Headley led the Crusaders with 21 points while making five three-pointers. Weidlich, who earned tournament most valuable player honors, added 20 points and six assists. Fellow all-tournament selection Josh Miller registered 14 points, eight rebounds, and four assists while Ryan Traub chipped in with 10 points and five boards.

Apprentice was led by all-tournament Jay Melendez with 16 points and six rebounds while Christian Cooper added 13 points. William Wilcox chipped in with 12 points and six boards.

All-Tournament Team
MVP- Steve Weidlich- Susquehanna
Josh Miller- Susquehanna
Zach Johnson- Apprentice
Jay Melendez- Apprentice
Eric Gendron- Trinity College
Chris Fazzini- King's College