King's College Athletics

WILKES-BARRE, PA (December 12, 2022) -- Junior Will Johnson recorded a double-double and led six in double figures as the King's College men's basketball team defeated the visiting Penn College of Technology, 104-99, in the non-conference match up on Monday afternoon in McGrane Gymnasium. The Monarchs surpass the century mark for the first time since defeating Penn State Scranton, 109-99, on November 12, 2019. King's record now improves to 4-6 overall, while the Wildcats drop to 4-5.
 
The opening 5:45 of action featured nine lead changes and four ties that saw the visiting Penn College of Technology (4-5) on top, 19-18, with 14:15 to go in the half. The Wildcats then went on a 19-6 run before a three from junior Carmine Castiello with 6:39 left in the opening period brought King's (4-6) back within single digits, 36-27. The teams traded possessions down the stretch before heading into the break with the Wildcats ahead, 47-38.
 
The Monarchs dominated the second half of competition, shooting a remarkable 63.64 percent (21-33) from the field, connecting for five threes in the half, as they posted the triumphant comeback effort. King's held Penn College scoreless over the first 1:55 of action as they closed the deficit to just three points, 47-44, off a steal-and-score layup from Johnson. The Monarchs would inch within one point five different times over the next 6:32 of play before a layup from first year Brendan Lonergan gave King's their first lead since the first half, 68-67, with 10:49 left in regulation.
 
The shootout would commence over the final minutes of the game as neither team led by more than four points, but with 7:30 left on the game clock, King's rattled off 15 unanswered points to lead by 11, 88-77, with 4:41 to go. Penn College would pull within three, 90-87, with 3:02 to play, but the Monarchs responded with a 9-3 run that left 51 seconds on the game clock with the hosts leading 99-90. Each attempt by the Wildcats to recapture the lead was met with a great defensive stop or a scoring possession by the Monarchs as King's earned the 104-99 win over Penn College of Technology on Monday afternoon in McGrane Gymnasium.
 
Johnson's double-double of 26 points and 10 assists led the offensive charge as he also connected for 5-of-8 from three and 9-of-15 for the game. Sophomore Chris Patton poured in 19 points, going a perfect 14-for-14 from the charity stripe, with five boards and two steals, while first year JJ Walsh added 16 points with three assists and a team-best three steals. Sophomore Patrick Bennie posted 13 points, shooting 4-of-5 from the floor, while Castiello came off the bench to post 12 points with a team-high three steals. Additionally, Lonergan had a strong performance, tallying 12 points and a team-best eight boards in the win.
 
The Wildcats saw Gavin Barrett post a triple double of 22 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds in the loss, while Will Sulesky added 19 points and Max Jackowsky totaled a double-double of 17 points and 11 boards.
 
As a team, the Monarchs shot 53.2 percent (33-62) from the floor for the contest and connected for 11 threes. They also dished out 23 assists on their 33 field goals, while the defensive efforts forced 20 Wildcats turnovers and collected 14 steals. King's took care of the ball well as they committed just eight turnovers in the win. Inside the stat sheet, King's held the edge over Penn College in points off turnovers (23-6), bench points (26-22), and fast break points (15-13).
 
King's will head into their holiday break with their win before returning to play on New Year's Eve as they host the University of Scranton. Tip off for the non-conference match up is set for 2:00 p.m. in McGrane Gymnasium.