Hazleton falls to King's College in home opener

HAZLETON, Pa. - Penn State Hazleton struggled from the field as King's College used a big second half to surge past their hosts, 85-44, in a non-conference game on Monday night in the Dr. Thomas Caccese Gymnasium.

Hazleton (0-4, 0-0 PSUAC) shot just 27 percent from the field, while the Monarchs heated up in the second half, making 13 of 22 shots, including eight three-pointers. The scoring for King's in the second half was in sharp contrast to the first 12 minutes, as the visitors held a slim 13-11 advantage with eight minutes left in the first half.

An 11-0 run over the next four minutes created all the separation King's would need, and a 52-point second half secured the win in the Lions' home opener.

1st Half

Junior Richard Hobbs (Central Islip, NY) opened up the scoring with a lay-up to give Hazleton its only lead of the game. A 9-0 King's run was answered by six straight points from Hazleton as sophomore Anthony Kaiser (Brooklyn, NY) scored a lay-up and a free throw and freshman Nick Nowak (Philadelphia, Pa.) drained a three-pointer to make it 9-8. A three from freshman Brian Miller (Barnesville, Pa.) cut the deficit to 13-11 just three minutes later, but that's as close as Hazleton would get.

King's went on their 11-0 run to make it 24-11, and extended their lead to 33-16 by halftime. 

2nd Half

Each team hit a three-pointer in the first 90 seconds of the second half, but another King's run over the next six minutes extended their lead to 52-23. The Monarchs went 8-for-11 from three during the half as they attacked Hazleton's match-up zone defense. 

Top Performers

It was a tough night for the Lions, but sophomore Royce Brathwaite (Pocono Summit, Pa.) led the way with 10 points and four assists for Hazleton. Sophomore Jordan Singletary (Houston, Pa.) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for the Lions. 

King's Chris Fazzini led all scorers with 17 points while teammate Tom Heston scored 12 and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.

NEXT UP: Hazleton will return to the court looking for their first win on Wednesday, Nov. 18th as they host the Susquehanna University JV team at 7:00 p.m.