Game Notes

NOVEMBER 16, 2017

KING'S MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM TO OPEN SEASON FRIDAY AT SUSQUEHANNA TOURNAMENT

WILKES-BARRE --  The King's College men's basketball team will open the 2017-18 season Friday when the Monarchs play in the Susquehanna Trailways Tip-Off Tournament at Susquehanna University.

King's will open up against host Susquehanna in the 8:00 PM nightcap while Albright College and Rowan University square off in the 6:00 PM opener. The consolation game will take place Saturday at 1:00 PM with the championship game to follow at 3:00 PM.

Fans unable to attend can follow the King's vs. Susquehanna game on LiveStats at:
http://gosusqu.com/sports/mbkb/tournament/boxscores/20171117_irdc.xml

Live Video for all games can be found here:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/susquehanna/

King's will be led into the season by head coach J.P. Andrejko who enters his 17th year with the Monarchs. Andrejko owns a 241-180 career record and is within nine victories of the 250-win plateau for his career.

This season's version of King's basketball will look drastically different from recent years as the Monarchs suffered heavy personnel losses and return eight players from last season, including just two players who started as many as half of the team's games last season. Three of the returnees saw action in nine or fewer games. King's will also field a squad that is lacks size as compared to past Monarch teams.  Of King's 16 players, eight are six-foot or under with just five players ranging between 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-6.

 

Leading the list of veterans are 5-foot-8 senior guard Connor Callejas (Archbald/Holy Cross) and senior 6-foot-4 forward Chris Fazzini (Drums/Hazleton Area) who will serve as two of the Monarchs three team captains. Callejas was second on the team in scoring last season with a 13.5 points per-game average while adding 48 assists, 3.1 rebounds, 23 steals, and hit on a team-high 60 three-pointers.  Fazzini, meanwhile, is looking to improve on his averages of 5.8 points and 4.0 rebounds last year after averaging 12.4 points as a sophomore and 11.0 points as a freshmen.

Sophomore 6-foot-1 guard Tyler Millan (Huntingdon Valley/Lower Moreland) proved to be a spark off the bench last season, playing in 24 games as a reserve and averaging 6.1 points with 28 three-pointers. Sophomore 5-foot-7 guard Joshua Bailey (York/West York) started six of the 22 games he played in and averaged 3.6 points with nine three-pointers.

Other returnees looking for increased roles this season include senior 5-foot-8 guard and team tri-captain Dan Angelo (Fort Drum, NY/Indian River) who saw action in nine games as a back-up point-guard and averaged 1.3 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists. Sophomore 6-foot-4 forward Tony Maloney (Tunkhannock/Tunkhannock) played in six games and totaled five points. Sophomore 6-foot-4 guard-forward Joe Lonardi (Elizabethtown/Elizabethtown) looks to remain healthy after missing the majority his freshman campaign after breaking his hand early on last season. Lonardi played in four games during the second semester and averaged 2.5 points and is considered by Andrejko as a three-point threat

Several newcomers will have an opportunity to contribute this season. In the back-court 5-foot-10 junior guard Lenny Radziak (Nanticoke/Holy Redeemer), a transfer from Luzerne County Community College, has the most collegiate experience. Last season at LCCC, Radziak averaged 19 points and made 87 three-pointers. He posted a career-high 38 points against Harrisburg Area Community College as a freshman. Another player with collegiate experience is 6-foot-3 junior forward James Willis (Lititz/Warwick) who transferred to King's after two seasons at Immaculata University. In his two years as a reserve at Immaculata, Willis played in 29 games and totaled 62 points and scored a career-high 22 points against Mount St. Vincent last season.

Freshmen battling for playing time at the guard position are 5-foot-6 Noah Pettenati (DuBois/Dubois Central Catholic), 5-foot-7 Noah Tanner (Throop/Mid Valley), 6-foot Jack Bridges (Philadelphia/Bishop McDevitt), 5-foot-11 Jack Brewster (North Attleboro, MA/Bishop Hendricksen), and 6-foot Victor Nyanway (Philadelphia/Conwell Egan Catholic). In the paint, 6-foot-5 Pat Mitchell (Pittston/Pittston Area) will add depth in the paint.

King's will face a major challenge in its opener against a Susquehanna team that went 23-6 last season and advanced to the third-round of the NCAA Division III national tournament. The Crusaders also earned a 78-65 win over King's in the finals of last season's tip-off event at Susquehanna.

The other first-round game will feature traditional New Jersey Athletic Conference contender Rowan University against MAC Commonwealth member Albright College. Rowan was 17-10 last season and reached the NJAC semi-finals while Albright finished 13-14 and advanced to the Commonwealth Conference semi-finals.

After the conclusion of the tournament, King's will make its home debut Monday night at 7:00 PM against Clarks Summit University in Scandlon Gymnasium.