WILKES-BARRE, PA (January 24, 2019) – The King's College men's basketball team will look to snap a mini two-game slide this weekend, welcoming in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) leader DeSales University in action from McGrane Gymnasium Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. The Monarchs are fresh off a heartbreaking 72-70 loss to local rival Misericordia University on Wednesday evening at home.

Event Details
Opponent: vs. DeSales University (12-5, 5-1 MAC Freedom)
Date: Saturday, January 26, 2019
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA – McGrane Gymnasium (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

The Last Time Out: Misericordia University's Jason Kenny made a driving lay-up with 1:02 to play to break a 70-70 contest, and that score held up as the King's College men's basketball team dropped a nail-biter to the visiting Cougars 72-70 in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play from McGrane Gymnasium Wednesday.

Neither team led by more than eight in the back-and-forth affair, which featured 17 lead changes and 13 ties throughout the 40 minutes. In fact, the contest saw the lead change hands eight times in the final eight minutes of the game and both teams led for a total of 16:15 of the game.

Freshman Jake Pawliczak finished with a team-best 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting before fouling out for the eighth time this season. The newcomer added six rebounds in 29 minutes, while Noah Tanner chalked up 14 points, three boards and five steals. Junior Tyler Millan also chipped in with an all-around solid performance, registering 11 points, six boards and a team-leading six assists.

Junior Andrew Hudak would finish with a game-high 13 rebounds, also posting eight points four assists and three blocks for the Monarchs, who shot 45.0 percent (27-60) from the floor and 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from behind the arc. The difference though was from the free throw stripe, as King's was 8-of-16 while Misericordia made 19-of-26. The Monarchs held a 36-24 edge in points in the paint as well.

A Look At The Monarchs (4-14, 2-5 MAC Freedom):

• The Monarchs have started to find their shooting touch from the field, as King's is shooting 47.2 percent on field goal attempts over the last four games. That's up from the season average of 40.1 percent.
• After chalking up just five games in double digits through his first 13 games, sophomore Noah Tanner has equaled that in his last five contests. Over that spurt, Tanner is averaging 14.4 points over that five-game stretch.
• King's currently has eight players score six or more points per game this year. That is the most of any team in the MAC Freedom, with DeSales having seven above that mark.
• The Monarchs have shot the ball well from behind the arc lately, thanks to James Willis and Kevin Hunter. Hunter has made five of his last 11 shots from deep over the last five games, while Willis is 11-of-22 over the same stretch. The two have combined to shoot 16-of-33 (48.4 percent) from deep over that span.
• Defensively, King's has done a nice job of late, ranking third in scoring defense this year with 73.8 points allowed per game.
• The Monarchs this season have forced 17.29 turnovers per game, which ranks second in the MAC Freedom and 49^th overall in Division III.
• Freshman Jake Pawliczak comes into Saturday's game third on the team in scoring with 9.6 points per game, after scoring a team-high 16 points Wednesday. He is also tied for third in the conference in blocks with 1.2 a game.
• Tanner is leading the team in points with 10.5 a game, while his steal total of 34 leads the squad and is the third-most in the league.
• In MAC Freedom games only, Andrew Hudak is averaging near a double-double, as the junior is posting 10.3 points per game and 9.7 boards per contest, while posting 4.0 assists per game as well.
• In the eight conference games that King's has played, Willis is shooing 45.8 percent from behind the arc, second-best in the MAC Freedom. His 1.8 threes per game in MAC Freedom play is ninth in the conference.

A Look At The Bulldogs (12-5, 5-1 MAC Freedom):

• DeSales is coming off its first league loss of the season, falling to Eastern University 67-63 on Wednesday evening at home. It was only DSU's second home loss of the year.
• The Bulldogs lead the MAC Freedom in scoring margin at 6.9, allowing a league-low 72.7 points while pouring in 79.6 as a team nightly.
• DSU also leads the conference in shooting percentage and is 42^nd in the country in the category with a mark of 47.5 percent.
• The Bulldogs are the current Division III leader in blocked shots per game, averaging 6.8 per night. Keba Mitchell is first in the conference with 2.13 rejections a contest, while Tracy Simsick is second with 1.44 blocks per game.
• DeSales shares the ball well, leading the conference in assists per game with 19. That ranks 11^th in the country, much in part to Matt Kachelries, who is fourth in the nation in assists per game with 6.8.
• Simsick is third in the conference in scoring per game with 18.1 points per game, and his 2.5 three-pointers made per game are third in the league.
• Luke Connaghan has started all 17 games and is posting 12.2 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds per night. His 54.7 field goal percentage is fourth in the MAC Freedom.
• Head Coach Scott Coval is in his 25^th season with the Bulldogs, ranking 34^th among active Division III coaches in winning percentage and 26^th in wins.

Against DeSales All-Time: The Monarchs are 24-38 all-time against the Bulldogs, though DeSales has won the last eight meetings dating back to 2015. In fact, the Monarchs have defeated DSU just twice since 2009. Earlier this season, King's fell to DeSales 62-55 in Center Valley, PA.