DECEMBER 19, 2016

KING'S MEN HEADING TO DAYTONA BEACH SHOOTOUT TO FACE 3RD RANKED WHITMAN, WASHINGTON & LEE

WILKES-BARRE — The King's College men's basketball team will return to the hardwood on Tuesday when the Monarchs play their final games prior to Christmas break at the Daytona Beach Shootout in Daytona Beach, Fla.

King's will face a huge test in it first game when the Monarchs face unbeaten Whitman College (7-0) of Washington state, the second ranked team nationally in Division III, Tuesday at 8PM.  King's will then meet Washington & Lee University of Virginia Wednesday at 8:00 PM in its final game of the tournament.

Fans can follow the games online at the following links:

Live Video (Both Games):  http://www.sportsnettv.com/

LiveStats vs. Whitman:  http://sporttours.net/sports/mbkb/2016-17/boxscores/20161220_zeee.xml

LiveStats vs. Wash & Lee:  http://sporttours.net/sports/mbkb/2016-17/boxscores/20161221_w6qy.xml


The Monarchs will enter the tournament with a 4-4 record after dropping both games at King's-own Monarch Classic last week.  King's fell 95-84 to Gwynedd-Mercy and 59-52 to Trinity College at the event.  The Monarchs have played a rigorous non-conference slate this season in preparation for the upcoming Freedom Conference schedule which begins in January. All four of King's losses have come to teams that qualified for the 2016 NCAA Division III national tournament. Along with Gwynedd-Mercy and Trinity, King's has also lost to 2016 national qualifiers Scranton (79-70) and Susquehanna (78-65).   Whitman will be the fifth returning national qualifier the Monarchs will face during the first semester.

King's has been paced by two-time All-Freedom Conference selection Dab Rutecki who tops the team with 14.9 points and 6.5 rebounds wile sharing the team lead with 22 assists. Junior guard Connor Callejas follows with 13.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 16 assists, and a team-high 19 three-pointers. Senior guard John Fazzini  adds 8.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 22 assists, and 15 three-pointers while junior small forward Chris Fazzini has tallied 8.1 points and 3.4 rebounds. Sophomore guard-forward Jake Barner contributes 7.8 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 11 three-pointers while freshman guard Tyler Millan checks in with 6.6 points and 10 treys. Freshman center Andrew Hudak posts 6.5 points and 4.6 rebounds while senior forward Derek Wilkins and freshman guard Joshua Bailey chip in with 4.3 and 4.0 points per-game respectively.  The Monarchs average 76.0 points each game while giving up 74.0 per-contest.

Whitman, which was ranked third nationally by D3Hoops.com last week, moved up to the number-two spot today (Tuesday). Whitman, which comes off a 80-79 Sunday win over College of Wooster, which was ranked earlier this season, has been keyed by a squad with tremendous depth as seven players average 7.3 points per-game or higher. The Blues are led by junior guard Tim Howell who is averaging 22.4 points and 2.1 rebounds.  Junior small forward Jase Harrison adds 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 11 three-pointers. Sophomore guard Joey Hewitt follows with 11.4 points and 3.1 rebounds while. Jack Stewart contributes 9.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 15 three-pointers. Junior 6-foot-6 forward Jojo Wiggins has tallied 7.9 points and 3.0 rebounds while sophomore small forward Austin Butler nets 7.9 points and 0 rebounds.  Cedric Jacob-Jones chips in with 7.3 points and 5.0 boards. The Blues average 90.9 points per-game-game while allowing 73.6 each contest.

Meanwhile, Washington & Lee stands at 1-6 entering its Daytona Beach opener against 22nd ranked Wesleyan College (9-0) of Connecticut. Heading into the event, the Generals have been paced by 6-foot-6 junior forward Clayton Murtha with 12.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per-game. Sophomore guard Devin Kearns follows with 11.7 points, 3.0 rebounds while senior guard Andy Kleinlein adds 9.1 points2.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. Sophomore forward Roy McMillan contributes 6.1 points and 2.4 rebounds while junior forward Nicholas George has posted 5.4 points. Freshman guard Kevin Dennin chips in with 4.2 points.  Washington & Lee averages 61.3 points per-game while yielding 70.7 each game.

After returning from Florida, the Monarchs will be idle until January 4 when King's opens the Freedom Conference schedule at Delaware Valley University.