Marissa Manning-Rich Douglas
Frank Lauri - unauthorized use not permitted
Seniors Rich Douglas (L) and Marissa Manning will be playing their final games in Scandlon Gym Saturday against Wilkes

King's Hoop Teams Hosting Wilkes Saturday, Men's Game Winner-Take-All for Final Freedom Conference Tourney Berth

2/19/2015 12:00:00 PM

FEBRUARY 19, 2015

KING'S BASKETBALL TEAMS CLOSING OUT REGULAR-SEASON SATURDAY AT HOME VS. WILKES, WINNER OF MEN'S GAME CLINCHES FINAL CONFERENCE TOURNEY BERTH

Women's Media Notes    l    Men's Media Notes

WILKES-BARRE — With the King's College and Wilkes University men's basketball teams both needing a victory to reach the Freedom Conference Tournament it somehow seems fitting that the squads will attempt to do so against one another. 

The scene is set and the matchup will take place Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in Scandlon Gymnasium.  At 1:00 p.m. King's and Wilkes women will conclude their seasons in a game that  does not have playoff implications but will have plenty of school and local pride on the line. 

In addition to already intense local rivalries, Saturday will be Senior Day for King's basketball teams and King's will also recognize former Monarch great Corey Dickerson on his MAC Hall of Fame induction at halftime of the men's contest.

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
 
NEPA Sports Radio - 1340 AM & 100.7 FM (Men's Game):
http://boldgoldradionepa.com/the-game-nepa-sports-radio/

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 10-14 overall record and are 6-7 in Freedom Conference play after being eliminated from post-season consideration with a hard-fought 63-56 loss at Delaware Valley College Tuesday night. Wilkes, meanwhile,  is 10-13 and 4-9 in league competition. The first meeting between the teams came on January 28 in Wilkes' Marts Center and King's was victorious 68-59 in a game where the teams traded multiple leads.

 
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Feairheller
King's women have been paced by sophomore guard Kayla Feairheller who averages 12.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per-game with 37 three-pointers. Senior forward Marissa Manning follows with 10.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 14 blocks. Sophomore point-guard Kasey Seitz adds 9.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and a team-high 69 assists with a team-high 40 three-pointers.  

Junior forward Jennifer Fabian contributes 7.8 points and 6.5 boards while freshman center Olivia Hoffman has tallied 5.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and a team-high 64 blocked shots. Junior forward Tara Zdancewicz chips in with 4.1 points and 2.9 rebounds. King's is averaging 59.6 points per-game while allowing 67.4 each contest.

Wilkes is led by senior guard Elena Stambone who tops the squad with 17.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 37 three-pointers. Senior forward Chelsea Brown follows with 9.9 points and 8.0 rebounds with 28 blocked shots. Junior guard Cara Basile adds 8.6 points and 5.4 rebounds while sophomore guard Chelsea Smeles contributes with 8.1 points and 5.6 boards.

Sophomore guard Haley Mesaros has tallied 4.3 points with 16 three-pointers while 6-foot-3 senior center Ellen Rich chips in with 4.2 points and 5.6 boards.  Wilkes averages 61.6 points while yielding 65.9 per-game.

The Monarch men enter the game with a 14-10 overall record and are 7-6 in the Freedom Conference after a heartbreaking 67-63 loss at Delaware Valley College Tuesday night in a game the Monarchs trailed 65-63 but missed two free throws with 0:22 left.  Wilkes, meanwhile, stands at 12-12 overall and forged a tie with King's for the fourth and final conference tournament berth with a thrilling 89-87 win over FDU-Florham in which the Colonels broke a 87-87 tie by scoring the game-winning basket with just 0:01 remaining.

The winner will be seeded fourth and will face the top-seeded, currently Misericordia with one game left, in the Freedom semi-finals on Wednesday. Wilkes won the first meeting with King's 59-54 in the Marts Center.

Sophomore forward Dan Rutecki paces King's with averages of 14.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per-game while topping the Monarchs by shooting 51.8 (117-226) percent from the field and 85.7 (114-133) percent from the foul line. Freshman guard Chris Fazzini follows with 11.3 points and 3.6 rebounds while brother John Fazzini, also a freshman guard, adds 8.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 24 three-pointers.  
 
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O'Shea

Freshman forward Dan Borner contributes 6.7 points and 3.9 rebounds while junior center Tom Heston adds 6.4 points, 5.2 boards, and a team-high 55 assists. Senior forward Tim O'Shea has been outstanding off the bench in recent weeks and averages 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per-game, but over the last eight games he has averaged 9.4 points and 5.5 rebounds.  King's averages 64.8 points while allowing 64.8 each contest.

Wilkes is led by the duo of Alec Wizar and Steve Stravinski. Wizar tops the squad with 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 43 assists while connecting on 67 three-pointers. Stravinski closely follows with 14.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 69 treys. Both players have combined for 136 three-pointers while the entire Monarch squad has combined for only 78. 

Zach Brunner adds 10.8 points and 5.3 rebounds while Tyler Jackson contributes 10.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 90 assists.  Cameron Hinkel has tallied 8.4 points and 5.6 rebounds while Jeremy Hartman posts 5.2 points and 3.7 boards. Mason Gross chips in with 5.1 points and 3.0 rebounds. The Colonels average 73.0 points while yielding 72.1 per-game.

Ironically, Wilkes will be looking for its first win in Scandlon Gym this year in its fifth attempt. The Colonels are 0-4 after going 0-2 in both the FNBC/Monarch Classic as well as the Cross County Challenge. But the Colonels did not play King's in any of those games.

The Freedom  Conference Tournament begins Wednesday with the number-four seed traveling to the number-one seed and the number-three seed visiting the number-two seed. Seedings will not be defined until after Saturday's games conclude.

J.P. Andrejko vs. Wilkes
2001-02:     1-1
2002-03:     1-1
2003-04:     2-0
2004-05:     2-0
2005-06:     1-2
2006-07:     1-1
2007-08:     1-1
2008-09:     0-2
2009-10:     2-0
2010-11:     1-1
2011-12:     0-2
2012-13:     2-0
2013-14:     2-0
2014-15:     0-1
Total:      16-12


Note:   Saturday on Senior Day, King's will recognize Marissa Manning and Katie Dugan as well as Tim O'Shea and Rich Douglas who will be playing their final games in Scandlon Gym.
 
Manning, O'Shea, and Douglas are seniors while Dugan is a junior who cannot play next season due to obligations in her demanding Physician Assistant major.


 
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