WILKES-BARRE, PA (February 8, 2019) – Coming off a home defeat to the Aggies of Delaware Valley University Wednesday evening, the Monarch men's basketball team will look to rebound at rival Wilkes University on Saturday afternoon at the Marts Center. 

All fans are encouraged to wear pink or purchase a Hoops for a Cure t-shirt ($10 short sleeve, $15 long sleeve) from one of the players on any of the teams. Both King's teams will also be supporting the Kay Yow Cancer fund with a free throw challenge during the month of February. Fans can support the teams by pledging a monetary amount for each Monarch free throw made during the month.

On Friday, February 8th all four teams will host a Play4Kay basketball clinic at the Scandlon Gymnasium on the campus of King's. The free clinic starts at 6:30 p.m. and runs to 8:30 p.m. It is open to all boys' and girls' grades kindergarten through 8th. Although there is no cost for the clinic, donations are welcome and will benefit the Play4Kay foundation.

Event Details
Opponent: at Wilkes University (15-7, 7-4 MAC Freedom)
Date: Saturday, February 9, 2019
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA – Marts Center (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

Last Time Out: The visiting Aggies of Delaware Valley University opened the game on an 11-0 run, using that stretch to earn a 69-41 Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) victory over the King's College men's basketball team Wednesday evening from McGrane Gymnasium.

Things started quick for the Aggies (12-10, 8-3 MAC Freedom), who got a lay-up off the opening tip from Lybrant Robinson just six seconds into the game. The opening spurt lasted until the 14:47 mark of the first half, when Damian Washington connected on a layup in the paint to make the score 11-0.

The Monarchs wouldn't hit their first field goal until 13:19 of the first half, and the visitors took a 41-14 advantage into the locker room for the halftime intermission. King's was getting good looks in the first stanza, but nothing seemed to get the roll while Delaware Valley added a 14-5 edge in fast break points along with a 28-point outburst in points in the paint over the first 20 minutes.

King's would play better in the second half defensively, holding the Aggies to just 28 points but couldn't get their shooting stroke going in falling for the sixth consecutive contest. Junior Joe Lonardi scored eight of his team-high 11 points in the second half, using an array of post moves to go 4-of-5 in the half and 5-of-7 overall.

Junior guard Tyler Millan posted eight points for King's, making all four of his free throw attempts in 17 minutes, and freshman Jake Pawliczak had an off night offensively but still scored seven points while adding eight rebounds. Junior Andrew Hudak also posted eight rebounds, and freshman Joey Lindsey grabbed a career-best four boards to go with a made three-pointer.

Freshman Patrick Galvin was two-for-two from the line for two points, and Victor Nyanway and Chandler Wreh each contributed a pair of buckets off the bench. King's outscored Delaware Valley in bench points 20-18, but shot just 27.3 percent (15-55) on the night including making just one of its 15 three-point attempts. The Monarchs did play solid exterior defense, forcing the Aggies into just 4-of-21 shooting from three-land.

A Look At The Monarchs (4-18, 2-9 MAC Freedom):

• King's College is led by freshman post play Jake Pawliczak, who leads the conference in shooting percentage at 57.5 percent en route to a team-high 11.3 points per game. He also paces King's with 25 blocks.
• Sophomore Noah Tanner is at an even 10 points per game, leading the team with 69 assists and 37 steals. He is fifth in the conference in steals per game with 1.7 a contest.
• Tanner currently ranks eighth in the MAC Freedom in assists per game with 3.1 helpers an outing.
• Junior Andrew Hudak currently ranks third in the MAC Freedom in rebounding with 8.6 per game, while his 3.1 offensive caroms per game is the second-most in the league.
• King's is shooting 39.9 percent from the floor this season as a team, which is eighth in the MAC Freedom.
• The Monarchs have forced the second-most turnovers in the conference behind only Manhattanville, forcing 16.0 giveaways per contest.
• The 8.18 steals per game for the Monarchs is the second-most in the conference, while the 180 thefts are also the second-most in in the league.
• The 41 points on Wednesday was the fewest points for a King's team since posting 39 in a 64-39 loss to William Paterson on December 29, 1996.  

A Look At The Colonels (15-7, 7-4 MAC Freedom):

• Wilkes comes into Wednesday's game having won its last three games, knocking off Misericordia University 69-54 to give the Colonels a two-game lead over the Cougars for the final spot in the MAC Freedom Tournament race.  
• Wilkes is second in the conference in scoring margin, outscoring teams on average by 5.6 points per game. The Colonels are second in shooting percentage with a 45.5 percent clip, while ranking fourth in field goal percentage at 43.9 percent.
• The Colonels are averaging 8.1 three-pointers per game, which ranks four in the conference, shooting the second-best percentage at 35.8 percent. Wilkes also leads the MAC Freedom in free throw percentage at 76.5 percent.
• Mark Mullins has been on fire of late, moving up to No. 4 on the conference scoring list with 16.1 points per game, while teammate Rob Pecorelli and Marcus Robinson are right behind him.
• Pecorelli is pouring in 15.8 points a night, adding 6.3 rebounds per contest.
• Robinson has connected on a league-high 60 three-pointers while averaging 15.6 points per night. He also is third in assists per game in the MAC Freedom with 3.7 a game.
• Tommy Bowen adds 14.0 points and a team-leading 7.6 rebounds a game for the Colonels.

Against Wilkes All-Time: King's is 57-44 all-time against the Colonels, as Saturday's meeting will be the 102nd series soiree between the two schools separated by less than a mile. King's defeated Wilkes 81-53 back on January 16, after dropping the previous six games in the series.

Up Next: King's finishes its regular season with a road game at Misericordia University Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. before hosting Manhattanville College for Senior Day Saturday, February 16 at 3 p.m. in McGrane Gymnasium.