WILKES-BARRE, PA (December 15, 2018) – The King's College men's basketball team saw five players score in double figures, earning a spot in the FNCB Bank Monarch Classic title game with a 68-52 win over Hartwick College in the first day of action Saturday from McGrane Gymnasium.

King's (2-7) will take on Susquehanna University for the second time this season in Sunday's 3 p.m. championship clash, after the River Hawks won the first contest of the day 73-68 over Gwynedd Mercy University. The win also snapped a three-game skid for the King's, who earned a spot in the championship game of this tournament for the second straight season. 

The Monarchs took advantage of a shorthanded Hartwick College team, which was playing with eight players due to injuries on the squad. Due to that, King's turned up the defensive pressure in the first half, turning the Hawks over 13 times while posting 14 points off turnovers in the opening period. King's led for 19:22 of the first half, never trailing after Andrew Hudak made a layup on the first possession of the game after two offensive rebounds.

The game remained close for much of the first half with the score at 25-20 King's with 5:36 to play after Hartwick got a jumper from Tommy Kelly. The Monarchs would push their lead up to 12 though at the intermission, finishing the opening period on a 7-0 run including four points from Hudak to make the score 32-20 at the break. King's dominated the points in the paint in the first half with 20, also adding 12 second-chance points off 10 offensive caroms.

After halftime, King's burst out of the gate with a 12-2 run capped by a Tyler Millan three-pointer with 15:33 to play to make the score 44-22. The Monarch lead ballooned up to as high as 24 points at 48-24 after two free throws by Jake Pawliczak, but Hartwick wouldn't go away. The Hawks posted a 13-2 run from 12:21 to 8:48 of the second to trim King's lead down to 10 as Justin Carruthers posted six points during the spurt.

The Monarchs would clamp back down on defense over the next 4:39 of the game, holding Hartwick to 0-of-6 shooting as King's went on an 11-2 run to put the game away. The Monarchs held their visitors to just 33.9 percent (19-56) shooting from the field on the afternoon, while forcing 18 turnovers on the night.

King's was paced by the 16 points from Millan who hit 3-of-6 from behind the arc, also making 7-of-8 from the line. Millan posted eight rebounds, two blocks and three steals as well, and Hudak had his best game of the season with 12 points, 11 boards, two assists and four rejections. Fellow forward Joe Lonardi chalked up his second double-double on the season, scoring 10 points to go with a game-high 13 caroms.

Guard Josh Bailey was steady all contest with four assists, three steals and four rebounds on top of his 10 points in 35 minutes, and Noah Tanner posted 10 points along with a game-high six assists and five steals. The Monarchs won the rebounding battle 46-37, finishing with 15 offensive rebounds which resulted in 18 second-chance points.

Kelly chalked up 14 points to lead Hartwick, while Bobby Connors came off the bench to score 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting in defeat. Hartwick will take on Gwynedd Mercy in the consolation game of the FNCB Bank Monarch Classic Sunday at 1 p.m.