DECEMBER 8, 2016

KING'S MEN'S BASKETBALL HOSTING FNC BANK/MONARCH CLASSIC DECEMBER 9-10

Directions to Scandlon Gymnasium

WILKES-BARRE — The King's College men's basketball team will return to the court when the 17th First National Community Bank/Monarch Classic takes place Friday and Saturday in Scandlon Gym.

The event will tip off at 6:00 p.m. with a matchup of 2016 NCAA Division III national tournament qualifiers as Susquehanna University faces Trinity College (Ct.) in the tournament opener. In the 8:00 p.m. nightcap, King's will meet Gwynedd-Mercy University, which also qualified for the NCAA tournament a season ago.  On Saturday the consolation game is set for 1:00 p.m. with the championship game to follow at 3:00 p.m. An all-tournament team will be announced following the championship contest.

Ticket prices for each day are $5 for adults, $2 for seniors, $2 for non-King's students showing I.D.  In addition, children under age-six shall be admitted free.  King's College students attend free with the presentation of their current student I.D.

Fans unable to attend can follow all the games online at the links below:

Live Video:  https://livestream.com/kingscollege

LiveStats:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/kings/mbball/

WRKC Radio. 88.5 FM (King's games only):  http://wrkc.kings.edu/list/current.html

King's enters the tournament with a 4-2 record after posting a 76-73 win over Marywood in the Monarchs' last game on November 27. Included in the Monarchs' ledger is a 78-65 loss to Susquehanna in the finals of the Pepsi Tip-Off Tournament on November 19.

King's is looking to win its first Monarch Classic title since the 2010 tournament. The Monarchs have not reached the championship game since finishing second in the 2013 event. King's went 0-2 last season, including a loss to Trinity in the consolation game. King's also went 1-1 and placed third in 2014.

The Monarchs are paced by senior forward Dan Rutecki who tops the squads with 14.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. Junior guard Connor Callejas follows with 13.7 points and 2.8 rebounds with 17 three-pointers while senior guard John Fazzini adds 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists with 14 three-pointers. Junior forward Chris Fazzini contributes 8.7 points and 3.5 rebounds while sophomore guard-forward Jake Barber has posted 8.3 points and 2.0 rebounds with 10 three-pointers. Freshman 6-foot-8 center Andrew Hudak tallies 7.2 points and 4.8 boards while freshman guard Tyler Millan chips in with 6.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, and six threes off the bench. King's averages 78.7 points while yielding 73.0 each contest.

Gwynedd-Mercy last appeared in the event two seasons ago and handed King's a 66-42 setback in the 2014 Monarch Classic. The Griffins, who reached the second round of the 2016 NCAA's, enter the tournament with a 4-1 mark after dropping a 90-78 verdict to Neumann University on Saturday.

Four double-figure scores lead a balanced Griffin attack. Junior guard Rip Engel tops the squad with 19.2 points and 3.0 assists per-game while draining 15 three-pointers. Senior 6-foot-4 forward Cedrick Elleby follows with 18.0 points and 8.8 rebounds with 2.8 blocked shots per-game. Senior 6-foot-6 forward Aaron Goodman adds 16.2 points and 8.0 rebounds while sophomore guard Courtney Cubbage tallies 10.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. The Griffins average 83.0 points per-game while allowing 72.6 each contest.

The other semi-final meeting is a rematch of last season's tournament opener as 2016 NCAA qualifiers Susquehanna and Trinity square off with the winner again moving on to the finals. Last season Susquehanna won a 79-74 thriller after trailing 67-66 with three minutes left in the contest. The River Hawks went on to defeat the Apprentice School 90-61 in the championship game while Trinity bested King's 90-63 in the consolation matchup.

Susquehanna enters the tournament with a 5-1 record after posting a 68-62 victory over Goucher College on Saturday and has won five straight games since losing its season-opener. The Crusaders reached the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament and are in search of their third straight trip to nationals.

Senior guard Steven Weidlich averages a team-high 23.5 points per-game with 6.5 rebounds and 19 three-pointers. Junior 6-foot-7 center Ryan Traub follows with 18.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and has shot 66.2 (43-65) percent from the field. Senior guard Dalton Reichard adds 7.8 points and 3.3 rebounds while 6-foot-7 freshman guard Zachary Knecht adds 7.5 points and 3.5 rebounds off the bench. The Crusaders average 85.0 points each-game while allowing 72.5.

Trinity, meanwhile, has qualified for the NCAA tournament each of the past two seasons and enter the Monarch Classic with a 4-3 record after posting a 74-66 win over Springfield College Wednesday might and have won their last three games.

The Bantams have been led by 6-foot-5 senior center Ed Ogundeko with 18.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per-game while shooting a whopping 66.7 (52-78) percent from the floor. Senior 6-foot-4 forward Chris Turnbull follows with 14.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 47.1 (16-37) percent from three-point range. Junior guard Eric Gendron adds 10.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while senior guard Langdon Neal contributes with 8.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists each contest. The Bantams average 75.9 points while allowing 67.0 per-game.

Following the Monarch Classic, King's will return to the court December 20-21 with the Daytona Beach Shootout in Florida. The Monarchs face Whitman College (WA) in the tournament opener before playing Washington & Lee (VA) the second day.