WILKES-BARRE, PA (November 12, 2018) – The King's College men's basketball team will play host to its first of two home tournaments this season, welcoming Hartwick College, Susquehanna University and Gwynedd Mercy University to town for the FNCB Bank Monarch Classic Saturday and Sunday, December 15-16. The Monarchs will be looking to stop a three-game skid this weekend, having fallen to DeSales University 62-55 in the last outing Saturday, December 8.

Event Details
Schedule:
Date: Saturday, December 15, 2018
3 p.m. - Gwynedd Mercy University (6-3, 1-0 Atlantic East) vs. Susquehanna (4-3, 1-0 Landmark)
5 p.m. - King's College (1-7, 0-2 MAC Freedom) vs. Hartwick College (4-3, 2-1 Empire 8)
Date: Sunday, December 16, 2018
1 p.m. - Consolation Game (Non-winners from Saturday's Games)
3 p.m. – Championship Game (Winners from Saturday's Games)

Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA -  McGrane Gymnasium (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

Last Time Out: The King's College men's basketball team turned an 11-point deficit into two points late in the second half, but a last minute three-pointer by DeSales University proved to be the difference as the Bulldogs knocked off King's 62-55 in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play from Billera Hall.

Freshman Jake Pawliczak posted a team-high 14 points, adding seven rebounds, making seven of his 13 field goals on the day. Junior Andrew Hudak chalked up nine points and nine rebounds, and junior Josh Bailey contributed eight points and team-best seven helpers.
Freshman Kevin Hunter came off the bench to add eight points in 21 minutes, while Joe Lonardi registered four points and seven boards. King's shot 39.3 percent (22-56) from the floor on the day but dominated on the glass earning a 42-31 edge on the boards.

A Look at the Monarchs (1-7, 0-2 MAC Freedom):

• The Monarchs have looked around for points from everyone this season, as five players have been the leading scorer in the game for the Monarchs. Noah Tanner has led the Monarchs three times, James Willis twice and Jake Pawliczak, JJ Glinsky and Kevin Hunter all once.
• Before making just three triples on Saturday at DeSales, the Monarchs had nailed eight or more three-pointers in four straight including back-to-back games with 12 made threes against Grove City and Clarks Summit.
• King's comes into the game Saturday with the third-most offensive rebounds in the conference, posting 101 on the season including 12.6 per game thus far this season.
• The Monarchs continue to lead the MAC Freedom in turnover margin, posting 4.88 fewer turnovers per game than their opponents.
• The Monarchs lead the MAC Freedom in steals per game with 9.63 a contest, posting 77 total thefts on the year.
• Freshman Kevin Hunter leads the Monarchs in points per game this season, scoring efficiently with 11.7 points per game with 17.3 minutes per contest. Hunter is 14^th in the MAC Freedom in points per game in league-only games with 13.0 points a night.
• Newcomer Jake Pawliczak is ninth in the MAC Freedom in rebounding this season with 6.8 boards a contest. He has also averaged over 11 points per game the last four contests.
• Pawliczak, Tanner and junior Josh Bailey are the lone three players to start all eight games this season for the Monarchs.
• Bailey ranks seventh in the conference in assists per game with 3.1 and is fourth in the MAC Freedom in steals per game with 1.9.
• King's has been looking to find a rhythm this season with a group of players, as the Monarchs have just one player (Bailey, 25^th) in the top 25 in minutes per game in the league.

A Look at the Hawks (4-3, 2-1 Empire 8):

• The Hawks come to King's this weekend winners in three of their last four games, with the only loss coming in an 89-70 loss to Division I Binghamton University December 1.
• In an odd bit of scheduling, Hartwick is playing just one game at home over their first 10 contests. Their only home game, a 15-point win over SUNY-Delhi came on November 29, with the next contest in Oneonta coming January 8, 2019.
• Hartwick College is second in the Empire 8 in offense, scoring 79.1 points per game, leading the league in three-point shooting at 39.0 percent while making 11.7 triples a contest.
• The Hawks share the ball well, dishing out a league-high 16.43 assists per game.
• Pat Garey is sixth in the Empire 8 in scoring with 17.6 points per game, while Brandon LaForest is adding 11.9 points per game as well. LaForest was an All-Empire 8 performer last season.
• 2017-18 Empire 8 and D3hoops.com East Region Rookie of the Year Kevin Townes is back after having a monster season last year as a freshman but is seventh on the team in scoring with 9.3 points per game this year.
• Head coach Waleed Farid is in his third season as the head coach at Hartwick, posting a 29-28 record thus far as the head boss.

A Look at the Griffins (6-3, 1-0 Atlantic East):

• Gwynedd Mercy has won its last three games, most recently knocking off Rutgers-Camden this past Monday 76-51 behind 22 points from Rich Dunham.
• Though the Griffins are fifth in the Atlantic East in scoring with 75.6 points per game, they make up for it on the defensive end allowing just 69.8 points per game. The point margin per game of 5.8 is second in the Atlantic East.
• GMU shoots a league-best 45.4 percent from the floor, taking the second-fewest three-pointers in the conference at just over 20 per game.
• Dunham is fifth in the Atlantic East in scoring with 18.6 points per game, while Courtney Cubbage is ninth with 14.3 points a night.
• Cubbage is 12th in rebounding in the conference with 5.8 on average, while his shooting percentage of 56.7 is third in the league.
• Dunham leads the conference is in the top 20 nationally in steals per game with 3.7 for the Griffins.
• The Griffins are led by 17^th-year head coach John Baron, who has accumulated a 303-146 record over his time at Gwynedd Mercy. His 300^th win came this season in a victory over Penn State-Harrisburg on November 16.

A Look At the River Hawks (4-3, 1-0 Landmark):

• Susquehanna played last Saturday afternoon at home, defeating Vassar College 80-74 in Houts Gymnasium. Susquehanna has won three of its last four with the only defeat coming in a 91-87 overtime loss to Misericordia November 28.
• The River Hawks have a balanced scoring attack, with six players posting seven or more points per game led by the 12.1 points from both Zach Knecht and Seth Callahan.
• Knecht leads the Landmark Conference in field goal percentage with a 63.3 percent clip, while ranking fourth in rebounding with 7.3 a game.
• SU is third in the Landmark in scoring with 77.5 points a contest, while taking the most free throws on average per game with 21.8.
• Susquehanna does a good job of limiting turnovers as well, committing just 14.3 giveaways per game which is best in the Landmark.
• The Riverhawks have one of the slower tempos in the Landmark, taking just 58.7 shots per contest which ranks seventh of eight teams.
• Guard Tyler Hoagland makes things work for the River Hawks, as he ranks second in the Landmark with 5.2 helpers per game.
• Head coach Frank Marinek is in his 30^th year as the head coach at Susquehanna, posting 421 wins over his time at SU.

Up Next: King's will be off until December 29 when it hosts the Cross County Challenge with Marywood University, the University of Scranton and Wilkes University in McGrane Gymnasium just before the New Year.