FEBRUARY 16, 2018

KING'S BASKETBALL TEAMS HOSTING  FDU SATURDAY IN FINAL REGULAR-SEASON GAMES
(Women eyeing home semi-final game, possible top-seed with a win)

WILKES-BARRE --  With one game left in the regular-season, the King's College women's and men's basketball teams will return to the court Saturday with an MAC Freedom Conference doubleheader against FDU-Florham in Scandlon Gymnasium.

The women's game tips off at 1:00 PM with the men to follow at 3:00 PM. King's will also host it men's basketball alumni game at 10:00 AM.

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

Women Live Stats:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/kings/wbball/
Men Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/kings/mbball/
Videos (Both Games):  https://livestream.com/kingscollege
WRKC 88.5 FM:  http://wrkc.kings.edu/list/current.html

After posting a 5-19 record a year ago, the King's women enter the matchup with a 15-9 overall mark while standing 10-3 in the MAC Freedom Conference following a 82-49 win over Wilkes Tuesday night. The Lady Monarchs are in sole possession of second-place behind defending champion FDU-Florham in a crowded Freedom Conference race. The Lady Monarchs have clinched their first conference tournament berth since the 2012-13 season.

FDU, meanwhile, has won the past four Freedom Conference tournament championships, including a 76-64 victory over King's in the Lady Monarchs last trip to the post-season in 2012-13. The Devils enter the game Saturday with a 18-6 record while owning a 11-2 league mark after a 56-49 win over Manhattanville on Tuesday. The Devils won the first meeting with King's 75-66 at home on January 10 in Madison, NJ.

King's owns a one-game lead over DeSales (9-4 Freedom), while Misericordia and Manhattanville are both 8-5 league records and will play Saturday to determine the fourth and final playoff berth. 

A King's win will clinch at least the second seed and a home semi-final game against DeSales. A loss, and DeSales would gain the second seed over King's by virtue of the Bulldogs splitting the season-series with FDU while King's would have gone 0-2 against FDU with a loss on Saturday.

King's also has a chance for the top seed with a win over FDU, but the Lady Monarchs would need Manhattanville to win on the road at Misericordia to kick in a King's-friendly tiebreaker.In that scenario, King's would hold the tiebreaker over FDU based on the Lady Monarchs' season series sweep over Manhattanville while FDU went 1-1 against the Valiants.

Sophomore forward Rebecca Prociak tops King's with 14.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per-game. Sophomore guard Mackenzie Yori follows with 12.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and a team-high 57 three-pointers Junior forward Alexis Steeber adds 12.1 points and 5.6 rebounds while senior center Olivia Hoffman contributes 8.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and a team-high 88 blocked shots. Junior guard Lindsey Dippre chips in with 5.0 points and 2.4 rebounds while making 25 three-pointers. King's averages 61.8 points while yielding 58.5 each contest.

FDU is led by the top-two scorers in the MAC Freedom Conference in sophomore guards Kendrea Williams and Gabrielle Harris.  Williams averages 22.0 points per-game with 93 three-pointers while Harris follows with 20.8 points, 6-0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 52 three-pointers. Junior forward Bria Smith adds 12.3 points and 9.5 rebounds while sophomore guard Taiah Thornton contributes 11.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. The Devils average 77.4 points per-game while allowing 65.0 each contest.

King's men were in the MAC Freedom Conference playoff hunt until dropping its past three games, including 101-72 loss to top-seeded Wilkes on Tuesday. The Monarchs enter their final game of the season with a 10-14 overall record as well as a 6-7 league mark. FDU-Florham, meanwhile, is 2-22 and 2-11 after a 85-74 loss to Manhattanville on Tuesday. King's won the first meeting 81-67 on January 10 in Madison, NJ.

The Monarchs are led by senior guard Connor Callejas who is averaging 17.8 points with 2.1 assists and a team-high 67 three pointers. Senior forward Chris Fazzini follows with 12.6 points and 5.9 rebounds while sophomore guard Tyler Millan adds 9.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 41 three-pointers. Freshman guard Noah Tanner adds 9.1 points and 2.0 assists while sophomore guard Joshua Bailey contributes 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 25 three-pointers. Junior guard Lenny Radziak chips in with 6.4 points and 26 three-pointers. The Monarchs average 79.7 points while allowing 84.3 each contest.

FDU-Florham is led by junior forward Darren Davy who averages 15.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per-game. Freshman guard Shawn Smith follows with 10.2 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.9 rebounds while junior guard Anthony Mitchell adds 10.1 points and 2.1 boards. Freshman guard Ahman St. Fleur contributes 9.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. The Devils average 67.4 points while yielding 80.7 per-game.
 
King's senior players from each squad will be recognized before their respective games.