FEBRUARY 10, 2015

EASTERN IN IMPORTANT FREEDOM CONFERENCE DOUBLEHEADER WEDNESDAY

Women's Media Notes    l    Men's Media Notes

WILKES-BARRE — With just four games remaining in the regular-season and post-season berths hanging in the balance, the King's College basketball teams return to the court Wednesday night with an important Freedom Conference doubleheader against Eastern University in Scandlon Gymnasium. The women's game tips off at 6:00 p.m. while the men's game follows at 8:00 p.m.

Ticket prices are $5 for adults, $2 for seniors, and $2 for non-King's students showing I.D.  In addition, children under age-six shall be admitted free.  Fans unable to attend can follow the games online at the following links:
 
KCTV / Live Video (Both Games):  http://www.kings.edu/mykings/streaming

WRKC 88.5 FM:  http://wrkc.kings.edu/list/current.html

Women's LiveStats:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/kings/wbball/

Men's LiveStats:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/kings/mbball/

King's women enter the matchup with a 9-12 overall record and are tied for the fourth and final Freedom Conference Tournament berth with a 5-5 mark after  a 68-65 road win over Manhattanville on Saturday. The Lady Monarchs face a stern test in Eastern, which is tied for first in the Freedom Conference after upsetting previously unbeaten, top-ranked, defending Division III national champion FDU-Florham 88-87 in overtime on Saturday.  The results enabled Eastern to enter the Division III national rankings as the Eagles now stand 24th in the D3Hoops.com poll. Eastern, which is on a seven-game win streak, won the first meeting between with King's 90-57 in St. Davids on January 17 and has not lost since.

King's women have been paced by sophomore guard Kayla Feairheller who averages 12.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per-game with a team-high 34 three-pointers. Senior forward Marissa Manning follows with 10.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 12 blocks. Sophomore point-guard Kasey Seitz adds 8.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists with 31 three-pointers.  Junior forward Jennifer Fabian contributes 7.5 points and 6.1 boards while freshman center Olivia Hoffman has tallied 5.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, and a team-high 60 blocked shots. Junior forward Tara Zdancewicz chips in with 4.4 points and 3.0 rebounds. King's is averaging 59.7 points per-game while allowing 67.5 each contest.

Eastern is led by 6-foot senior forward  Meghan Nowak who is averaging 19.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per-game and was named Freedom Conference "Player of the Week" on Monday.  Emily Lavin, a 6-foot-1 sophomore center, follows with 13.4 points, 9,0 rebounds, and 67 blocked shots. Senior guard Gina DiDomenico adds 11.6 points3.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists with 49 three-pointers while fellow senior guard Kaitlyn Dougherty contributes 8.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.  The Eagles average 70.2 points per-game while yielding 65.1.

The Monarch men enter the game with a 12-9 overall record and are locked in a three-way tie for fourth-place in the Freedom Conference with a 5-5 mark along with Eastern and Wilkes. The Monarchs come off a hard-fought 79-72 win at Manhattanville on Saturday. Eastern, meanwhile, is 9-12 overall and 5-5 in league play after registering a 82-79 victory over FDU-Florham on Saturday.  King's and Eastern last played on January 17 where the Eagle pulled out a 66-63 overtime win. In that game King's had nearly sent the game to a second extra session but a near three-quarter court shot went in but was ruled to have been after the clock expired.

Sophomore forward Dan Rutecki paces King's with averages of 15.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per-game while topping the Monarchs by shooting 51.5 (103-200) percent from the field and 86.1 (105-122) percent from the foul line. Freshman guard Chris Fazzini follows with 11.1 points and 3.4 rebounds while brother John Fazzini, also a freshman guard, adds 7.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 19 three-pointers.

Freshman forward Dan Borner contributes 6.5 points and 4.0 rebounds while junior center Tom Heston adds 6.2 points, 5.2 boards, and a team-high 2.1 assists per-game. Tim O'Shea has been outstanding off the bench in recent weeks and averages 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per-game, but over the last five games he has averaged 10.6 points and 4.2 rebounds.  King's averages 64.4 points while allowing 64.5.

Eastern, meanwhile, is paced by Shaquan Turk who averages 15.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per-game. Malcolm Garrison follows with 12.1 points, 3/7 rebounds, and 35 three-pointers while Tarek Hamzeh adds 10.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 52 three-pointers. Austin James chips in with 9.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 45 three-pointers  while Austin Carroll chips in with 8.6 points and 2.5 assists.

Three-point shooting stands as a major difference between the teams as Eastern has made 198 long-range shots compared to 67 for the Monarchs. The Eagles were 9-of-25 from down town in the first meeting with King's while the Monarchs were 2-of-14.

Following the gems against Eastern both King's teams will play at home on Saturday with a Freedom Conference doubleheader against Misericordia University at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.