The best way to describe King’s 69-56 win over Penn State Hazleton is that it was a tale of two halves. The Monarchs shot a less than stellar 38% in the first half but in the second half, it was a different story. Led by underclassmen Dan Rutecki and Nate Oliver, the team shot a pretty 58 percent.
Rutecki, who looks as if he could be the next King’s star, finished with a solid 20 points and six boards. The sophomore dominated the inside and really took the game over early in the second half. These are back to back 20 point outings for Rutecki and coach JP Andrejko expects his big man to keep up his solid performances.
“That’s going to be his role,” he said Monday night. “Danny has been there, he started all last year. He is a player and he can handle it. He can handle it from a mental standpoint, emotional standpoint. He wants the ball. I thought both games he was excellent.”
And then there was Oliver, a Wilkes-Barre native, who came off the bench and absolutely lit it up. He entered the game early in the first half and missed his first two three’s. He wasn’t messing around after that. The youngster went on to make five of his next six attempts from beyond the arch, and finished with 15 points.
Andrejko used Oliver in a role that fits him perfectly. He is a shooter, and as they say, “shooters will shoot.” He played the role of a spark plug. The sophomore entered the second half within minutes after freshman Dan Borner continued to struggle. Borner, who started the game, did not re-enter into the contest.
The thing of notice, however, is that this is a very young squad. Andrejko ran out two juniors, a sophomore and two freshman.
Freshman Chris Fazzini was in store for a big game but got himself into foul trouble. He finished 3-3 for seven points. He also made a pretty cross court pass to Oliver for one of his five three’s. From the looks of it Chris, and his older brother, John, who finished with eight points of his own, will play a big role in how this team fares for the season. Not because of their offensive output but with how they play defense in the backcourt.
The only problem with this team is that it was way too easy for PSU-Hazleton to get in the paint. Jacob Solano, who finished with 21 points got into the interior at will and so did the rest of his teammates. If King’s cleans up their defense, this team has potential to be a factor in the MAC.
It’ll be interesting to see how Andrejko continues with his rotations. The 14th year coach played 11 guys and is pleased with the depth of his young team.
“Love it,” he said when asked about the depth of this year’s squad compared to others. “We are still learning about them and they are still learning about us. It’s a work in progress.”
Vito Malacari covers King’s sports for WRKC Digital, follow him on Twitter @VitoMalacari23 or email him at VitoMalacari841@Kings.edu