SELINSGROVE, PA (November 16, 2024) -- Senior Chris Patton rallied for a 30-point effort to lift the King's College men's basketball team to a 74-52 win over Penn State Brandywine in the consolation game of the Susquehanna Tip Off Tournament. With the win, Head Coach JP Andrejko notches his 300th career victory as the Monarchs improve to 2-1 overall, and the Nittany Lions drop to 1-4.
 
The Monarchs came out to a slow start, trialing 11-3 just 2:54 into the game, but a 14-point spurt led by seven points from Jake Karnish put King's (2-1) ahead, 17-6, with 13:44 remaining in the half. The teams traded baskets before the game was knotted at 25-25 with 8:25 to go, before the Monarchs opened a 17-3 run to end the half gave King's the 42-28 edge heading into halftime.
 
A dominant second-half performance saw the Monarchs defense limit Penn State Brandywine (1-4) to just 24 points and a 23.6% shooting percentage, including an abysmal 1-for-13 (7.6%) from beyond the arc. The Nittany Lions scored five of the first seven points of the second to close within 11, but they would not get any closer down the stretch. The King's lead swelled to as much as 26 on a layup from Patton with 8:54 left on the game clock before cruising to the 74-52 win on Saturday afternoon.
 
Patton finished with a game-high 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting, including 5-of-8 from three, with seven rebounds, while Jake Karnish had nine points, nine boards, two assists, and a block. Garrett Burys continued his strong play in the tournament, totaling 11 caroms, eight points, three blocks, and a dime, and Ben Rodner-Tims added six points, six assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Eamonn Walsh collected eight boards with six points, while Sean Forrest came off the bench to add eight points and eight rebounds.
 
The Nittany Lions were led by Joey Brusha with 11 points, two steals, two assists, and two rebounds.
 
King's shot the ball well, connecting for 39.4% from the floor and 34.6% from three while dishing out 12 assists on their 26 field goals. The Monarchs dominated the glass, out rebounding Penn State Brandywine 60-33 in the contest, while the defense limited their foes to 28.6% (20-70) shooting for the game and 22.6% (7-31) from beyond the arc. Inside the stat sheet, King's had the edge in second chance points (12-2) and points in the paint (34-14).
 
The Monarchs will be back in action as they host Penn College next Saturday, November 23 at 3:00 p.m. in McGrane Gymnasium.