Box Score

JANUARY 26, 2017

KING'S MEN DOWN MANHATTANVILLE 76-62 TO SNAP 12-GAME LOSING STREAK

WILKES-BARRE Jake Barber and Connor Callejas combined for 41 points to pace four double-figure scorers as the King's College men's basketball team ended a frustrating 12-game losing streak by winning its first Freedom Conference game of the season with a 76-62 victory over Manhattanvile College Saturday in Scandlon Gymnasium.

With the win the Monarchs improved to 5-14 overall and 1-7 in Freedom Conference games while registering its first victory since  November 27.  Manhattanville, meanwhile, fell to 7-12 and 3-5 in league competition.

After a slow start that saw King's trail by as many as 10 points in the first half, the Monarchs battled back to manage a 33-32 lead at the break.

The Valiants came out of the gates in the second half and used a 10-6 surge to take a 42-37 lead with 14:21 remaining after a jumper by Alex Tuci.  King's, however, would counter with back-to-back three-pointers by Dan Rutecki and John Fazzini to take  43-42 lead at the 13:11 mark. The Valiants, however, took a 45-44 lead after a traditional three-point play on driving lay-up and foul shot by JoJo Cobbs with 11:51 to play.

But King's answered the call with a critical 15-0 run, keyed by three-point shots by Tyler Millan, Jake Barber, and Connor Callejas to build a 59-45 lead with 7:48 left in the contest.

But Manahattanville would not fold and used a 12-1 run of their own to close to within 60-57 with 2:37 remaining when Charles Nardone made one-of-two free throws.  But the Monarchs would not be denied and outscored the Valiants 7-0 over the next 0:59 to take a 67-57 lead with 1:38 to play. After a pair of Manhattanville foul shots at the 1:31 mark brought the score to 67-59, King's closed out the game with 9-3 spurt, including 8-of-8 from the foul line, to seal the victory.

The win marked the end of a frustrating stretch of games for the Monarchs who suffered the longest losing streak in head coach J.P. Andrejko's 16-year career at King's.  Three of King's first four losses in the streak came at the hands of squads which qualified for the NCAA Division III national tournament last season, including Whitman College of Washington state which is currently 17-0 and ranked second nationally in Division III. Since then, all 11 of King's losses were games in which the Monarchs were highly competitive, including five losses by six or fewer points. Thankfully for the Monarchs, the streak has ended.

Barber paced King's with 21 points while shooting 4-of-7 from three-point range. Callejas followed with 20 points and was 6-of-8 from down town.  The Monarchs also received a solid contribution from Rutecki with 12 points and nine rebounds while John Fazzini tallied 10 points on the day.  Derek Wilkins chipped in with five points and six rebounds, including a huge three-pointer with 1:56 to play, giving King's a 65-57 lead.

The Monarchs, who have been plagued by poor shooting for the majority of its losing streak, made 46.9 (23-49) percent of their shots, their best since a December 9 loss to Gwynedd Mercy (57.7) at King's own Monarch Classic.

Manhattanville was paced by Dom Arena with 19 points and eight assists while Alec Tuci followed with 10 points and 11 boards. Chris Ayson chipped in with 10 points.

King's returns home  Wednesday with a 8:00 PM Freedom matchup against Delaware Valley University in Scandlon Gym.