WILKES-BARRE, PA (November 11, 2022) – A hot shooting night served as the recipe for success as the King's College men's basketball team rolled to an 85-50 win over the visiting Penn State Hazleton on Friday night in front of an electric home crowd in McGrane Gymnasium. The Monarchs improve to 2-0 to start the season, while the Nittany Lions drop to 1-1.
After the visitors hit the first shot of the game, King's (2-0) opened with a 14-2 run to take a solid 14-5 lead with 14:10 to play in the opening half. The Monarchs lead grew to as much as 19 points, 32-13, off a three from first year
JJ Walsh with 9:03 to go in the half, but Penn State Hazleton (1-1) chipped away at their deficit. The Nittany Lions could only come as close as 15 before the Monarchs shut the door on an early comeback effort to hold a 47-24 advantage with their largest lead so far at the break.
The Monarchs maintained their momentum throughout the second half, leading by 30-plus points for the final 9:01 of play before a three from senior
Collin Cook with 38 seconds left totaled the largest advantage in the game at 35. King's cruised to their 85-50 final in the non-conference action in McGrane Gymnasium.
Carmine Castiello was electric as he connected for 24 points, including 20 in the first half, on 7-of-14 shooting and 6-for-10 from beyond the arc, adding four rebounds and a team-high tying three steals. Senior
Tyler Faux posted a strong game off the bench with 13 points, three assists, and three steals, while
Will Johnson came up just shy of a double-double with 12 point and nine boards, adding a team-best five assists. Sophomore
Patrick Bennie finished out the leading scorers with 10 points, going a perfect 3-for-3 from the field, while first year
Garrett Burys collected a team-high 11 boards with two blocks.
Donovan Cumberbatch led Penn State Hazleton with 12 points, while Aiden Wiktor pulled down a team-best five rebounds.
As a team, the Monarchs shot an impressive 44.3 percent (27-61) from the field and 36.4 percent (12-33) from three while holding the Nittany Lions to 30.3 percent shooting for the contest. King's held the edge on the boards, 50-34, while forcing 20 Penn State Hazleton turnovers. The Monarchs shared the ball well as they dished out 17 assists on their 27 made field goals. Additionally, the Monarchs edged out their foes in points in the paint (28-14), points off turnovers (26-9), second chance points (19-5), fast break points (12-4), and bench points (35-10).
King's will be back in action for their first road test of the 2022-23 season as they travel to Allentown, Pa. to take on Muhlenberg College. The non-conference match up is set for a 7:00 p.m. start.
--MONARCHS--
