WILKES-BARRE, PA (November 30, 2023) -- Facing a 34-29 halftime deficit, the King's College men's basketball team shot 53.13% from the floor in the second half and put up 48 points as they defeated the visiting Penn State Abington Nittany Lions, 77-71, in front of an electric crowd at McGrane Gymnasium on Thursday evening. The Monarchs remain unbeaten at home and pick up their fifth straight, improving to 6-2 overall, while the Nittany Lions dropped to 2-4.
 
It was a true back-and-forth battle throughout the opening 20 minutes of action as neither team led by more than a basket before a three from Kolby Miller at the buzzer banked in to give Penn State Abington (2-4) a 34-29 advantage at the break.
 
King's (6-2) turned on the jets in the second half, using an 8-0 run with four points each from Chris Patton and Garrett Burys to jump ahead, 37-34, with 17:44 to play. The pace of the game returned to its normal flow with each team matching the other with their offensive possessions before a steal from Jake Karnish led to a transition layup for Devin Kimmick as the Monarchs saw their largest lead of the game thus far, 51-45, with 11:26 left.
 
The Nittany Lions would crawl back to keep the non-conference match up a one-possession contest before reclaiming the lead, 58-57, with 7:22 on the game clock. Despite struggling from the charity stripe, the junior duo of Patton and Eamonn Walsh drove home consecutive fast break layups to see the King's jump ahead as their lead increased to 63-58 with 4:50 to go. After three quick free throws from the Nittany Lions, the Monarchs opened the scoring with an 11-2 run, featuring a pair of threes from Carmine Castiello, as the advantage swelled to 11, 74-63, with 36 ticks left. Penn State Abington attempted to extend the game, but Castiello went 3-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 18 seconds to secure the 77-71 victory in McGrane Gymnasium on Thursday evening.
 
Castiello poured in a team-high 19 points in 21 minutes of action, shooting 6-for-9 from the floor and 4-for-5 from beyond the arc, while Patton added 18 points on a 7-of-14 effort with six rebounds and three assists. Walsh posted 12 points to round out the double-digit scorers, dishing out five helpers and collecting a steal, and Karnish had yet another stat-packed evening of 13 boards, eight assists, five points, and three steals. Additionally, Ben Rodner-Tims came off the bench to grab six rebounds and hand out three helpers.
 
Alex Podolski contributed a game-high 21 points with eight rebounds, five assists, and five steals, while Jake Schalki recorded a double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Nittany Lions.
 
King's used their 53.13% shooting in the second half to finish 43.3% (26-60) for the game with six made threes. The team shared the ball well, handing out 23 helpers on their 26 baskets, while edging out Penn State Abington 42-39 in the rebounding margin. Additionally, the defensive effort forced 14 Nittany Lion miscues and out scored the visitors 18-11 in points off turnovers. The King's bench also showed out in the win, out scoring Penn State Abington 17-4.
 
The Monarchs will be off for their finals-week break before returning to action in McGrane Gymnasium on Sunday, December 10. King's plays host to Marywood University for a 2:00 p.m. tip off.