WILKES-BARRE, PA (January 14, 2019) – The King's College men's basketball team, coming off a big 81-71 win over FDU-Florham on Saturday afternoon, will look to climb back into the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) playoff picture against bitter rival Wilkes University Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. in McGrane Gymnasium.

Event Details
Opponent: vs. Wilkes University (11-4, 3-1 MAC Freedom)
Date: Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA – McGrane Gymnasium (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

Last Time Out: Senior swingman James Willis had another explosive scoring evening for the King's College men's basketball team, coming off the bench to post a game-best 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting to lead the Monarchs past FDU-Florham 81-71 in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play from McGrane Gymnasium Saturday.

The win for the Monarchs (3-12, 1-3 MAC Freedom) was an important one as it snapped a five-game skid while getting the offense going with 81 points. The point total was their second-highest of the season, behind the 115 points when King's defeated Clarks Summit University 115-70 November 19. Willis was the star in that game as well, posting a career-high 30 points in that contest for King's.

Willis posted his game-high 26 points thanks to 6-of-11 shooting from behind the three-point line, also making all four free throws including one four-point play. Willis added five rebounds as well for King's, and junior Andrew Hudak continued to play well with 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists.  Sophomore Noah Tanner was 4-of-7 from the floor, scoring 12 points to go with a game-high six assists and five boards.

Lonardi also chalked up nine points and nine rebounds, playing very good defense all game as he was a +17 for the game. King's posted a 34-22 points in the paint edge, thanks to a 47-29 rebounding margin including 16 offensive boards that led to 15 second-chance points. King's shot 42.9 percent from the field, and the 10 made triples was the third-most this year behind the 12 against Clarks Summit and Grove City College.

A Look At The Monarchs (3-12, 1-3 MAC Freedom):

• This season the Monarchs have fared well when they are stout defensively, as King's has won three of their five games when holding teams under 71 points.
• Senior James Willis has gone bananas in two of the games this season, both victories for the Monarchs. Willis has scored 56 of his 89 points in two games, scoring 30 against Clarks Summit University and 26 against FDU-Florham.
• Junior Andrew Hudak continued to up his rebounding totals, as he is averaging 11.3 rebounds per game over the last three contests. He is second in the MAC Freedom in rebounding for the season with 8.5 per game.
• Sophomore Noah Tanner has posted more assists than turnovers in five of his last seven games, including tying his season high for assists in a game with six on Saturday.
• King's is the only team in the conference that doesn't have at least one player to start all their games, as the Monarchs have started nine different starting units this season.
• Junior Tyler Millan comes into the game sixth in the conference in free throw shooting, making 78.4 percent from the charity stripe.
• Freshman Kevin Hunter is 11^th in the MAC Freedom in three-point shooting, connecting on 1.9 makes per game. His percentage ranks fifth in the MAC Freedom, making 38.8 from behind the arc.
• King's have the second-best block duo in the conference, as Hudak and Jake Pawliczak have combined for 32 blocks. That ranks second behind just Keba Mitchell and Tracy Simsick of DeSales.
• In MAC Freedom games, King's has the third-best scoring defense allowing 75 points per game. The Monarchs are allowing teams to shoot just 40.5 percent, second-best in MAC Freedom-only play.
• In conference only play, the Monarchs lead the MAC Freedom in total rebounding with 40.3 per game, while also posting the best offensive rebounding rate per game with 13.3. King's rebounding margin of 6.8 in MAC Freedom games is behind just Eastern (8.3).
• King's has won all three of its games this season in the friendly confines of McGrane Gymnasium and has been tied or leading in the second half of six of its nine home contests.

A Look at the Colonels (11-4, 3-1 MAC Freedom):

• Wilkes has alternated wins and losses its last seven games, most recently coming off a 20-point win over Eastern University at home Saturday afternoon, 94-74. In that game, Wilkes broke the NCAA Division III record for free throw shooting, going 33-33 from the line.
• The Colonels have the second-best scoring offense in the conference with 81.8 points per game, while its scoring margin of 6.5 leads the MAC Freedom.
• Wilkes has the highest shooting percentage from deep of any MAC Freedom team, making 37.6 percent from behind the arc. The Colonels average 8.5 makes from deep per game.
• WU also leads the MAC Freedom in free throw shooting percentage, connecting on 75.7 percent from the line, posting the most free throw makes of any team in the league with 258.
• Despite missing five games, Rob Pecorelli still leads the team in scoring with 16.6 points per game which ranks him fifth in the MAC Freedom.
• Teammate Marcus Robinson is right behind him with 16.3 points per game, as Robinson leads the conference in three-point makes with 46 while taking a league-high 125 this season. In that win over Eastern, Robinson became the all-time leader in three-pointers made at Wilkes with 252.
• Tommy Bowen is second in the conference in shooting percentage with a 56.8 percent rate, as the forward adds 14.6 points per game. He is also fifth in rebounding in the league with 7.8 per game.
• Head coach Izzi Metz is in his fifth season on the bench of the Colonels, earning MAC Freedom Coach of the Year honors last year while also picking up D3hoops.com Atlantic Region Coach of the Year a season ago.

Against Wilkes All-Time: King's is 56-44 all-time against the Colonels, as Wednesday's meeting will be the 101^st series soiree between the two schools separated by less than a mile. The Monarchs have lost the last six meetings, following a six-game series run for King's from 2013-2015.

Up Next: The Monarchs will head to Doylestown, PA for a conference contest with Delaware Valley University (6-9, 2-2 MAC Freedom) Saturday, January 19 at 3 p.m. in James Work Gymnasium.