FEBRUARY 6, 2015

KING'S BASKETBALL TEAMS TRAVELING TO MANHATTANVILLE FOR IMPORTANT FREEDOM CONFERENCE DOUBLEHEADER

WILKES-BARRE — With only five regular-season games remaining, the King's College women's and men's basketball teams are looking for a successful stretch drive as both squads are fighting for respective Freedom Conference Tournament berths.  Their quests will continue Saturday with a league doubleheader at Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY.

Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $3 for ages 12 and under.

Fans unable to attend can follow the action on LiveStats at the following links:

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

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

Four teams qualify for the Freedom Conference Tournament and entering the weekend both King's squads are just on the outside and looking in at fifth place. 

On the women's side defending national champion FDU-Florham is in first-place at 20-0 and 9-0 in league games. Eastern follows at 16-4 and 8-1 while DeSales and Delaware Valley are tied for third. DeSales is 11-9 and 5-4 while the Aggies are 10-10 and 5-4.  King's is fifth at 8-12 and 4-5, a game ahead of sixth-place Wilkes which is 8-10 and 3-6.

For the men, DeSales, Delaware Valley, and Misericordia are locked in a three-way tie for first place with respective 7-2 marks.  DeSales and Misericordia are both 15-5 overall while Delaware Valley is 12-8. Wilkes is fourth at 10-10 and 5-4 while King's stands fifth with records of 11-9 and 4-5. The Monarch are tied with eastern which is 8-12 and 4-5.

Both King's teams face remaining games with Manhattanville, Eastern, Misericordia, Delaware Valley, and Wilkes respectively.

The Lady Monarchs are 8-12 overall and 4-5 in the Freedom Conference after a 86-41 loss to defending NCAA Division III national champion FDU-Florham Wednesday night. Manhattanville, meanwhile, is 10-10 and 1-8 following 75-53 loss at Delaware Valley Wednesday night. The teams played 13 days ago with KIng's posting a hard-fought 62-54 triumph in Scandlon Gym.

The Lady Monarchs are paced by sophomore guard Kayla Feairheller who averages 12.9 points and 5.4 rebounds with a team-high 33 three-pointers. Senior forward Marissa Manning follows with 11.2 points and 7.0 rebounds. Sophomore point-guard Kasey Seitz adds 8.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.75 assists while junior forward Jennifer Fabian has contributed 7.2 points and 5.9 boards. Freshman center Olivia Hoffman has tallied 5.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and has 56 blocks while junior forward tara Zdancewicz chips in with 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds. KIng's averages 59.3 points per-game while yielding 67.6.

Manhattanville is paced by 6-foot-2 senior center Alyson Caiazzo who averages 16.8 points, 15.3 rebounds, and has blocked 58 shots.  Bri Pabon follows with 16.0 points and 3.7 assists while making 39 three-pointers. The Valiants average 69.6 points while allowing 66.4 each contest.

King's men enter the catchup with a 11-9 overall record while standing 4-5 in the Freedom Conference following a 86-74 home win over FDU-Florham on Wednesday.  Manhattanville, meanwhile, is 6-14 and 2-7 after coming up short in a 72-68 road upset bid against Delaware Valley Wednesday night.

The Monarchs are led by sophomore forward Dan Rutecki who averages 15.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per-game following   a 28-point, 10-rebound showing against FDU.  Freshman guard Chris Fazzini follows with 11.1 points and 3.4 rebounds while brother John Fazzini adds 6.7 points and 3.2 assists with 17 three-pointers. Junior center Tom Heston has contributed 6.5 points and 5.4 rebounds while freshman forward Dan Borner has posted 6.5 points and 3.9 boards.  The Monarchs average 63.7 points while allowing 64.2 each contest.

Manhattanville is led by Juan Camacho with 15.8 points and 5.2 rebounds with 21 three-pointers while Anthony Maestre follows with 15.7 points and 3.7 assists with 36 treys. The Valiants average 65.1 points while yielding 70.8 per-game.

Following the trip to Manhattanville King's will return home Wednesday with an 8:00 p.m. matchup against Eastern University in Scandlon Gym.