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WILKES-BARRE — Some early foul trouble left King’s without its leading scorer and floor general for much of the first half.
When Carmine Castiello finally got back out on the court, he made every second count.
Castiello scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the second half, and the Monarchs pulled away late to defeat Penn State Abington 77-71 and win their fifth straight game on Thursday night at McGrane Gymnasium.
The senior knocked down four three-pointers, including two on back-to-back possessions in the final two minutes to put the game on ice, firing up his teammates and the fans behind the Monarchs bench.
“It felt awesome to me, I like to bring a lot of energy to the game because I love it so much,” Castiello said. “The guys on the bench, everybody picks me up, everybody’s involved.”
It took the Monarchs just about 90 seconds to turn a five-point halftime deficit into a one-basket lead, and King’s did just enough for the bulk of the remaining time to stay a possession or two ahead of PSU Abington.
“I thought it was a great game, both teams played really hard,” King’s coach J.P. Andrejko said. “In the second half, we were much more aggressive offensively and defensively, and that’s when we are at our best.”
The story of the opening 20 minutes was the absence of Castiello, who picked up two quick fouls in the first five minutes and went to the bench for the remainder of the half, Andrejko opting not to risk him picking up a third foul before the break.
Without their leading scorer, the Monarchs had a bit of trouble finding open looks and shot just 32% from the floor in the first half, relying on defense and the free throw line to keep PSU Abington from taking over the game.
A three-pointer on the run from Kolby Miller gave the Lions a 34-29 lead heading to the locker room after a low-scoring, physical first half.
“Not having our senior (Castiello) on the floor was a big deal,” Andrejko said. “I thought we got tentative when he came out of the game, and played that way the rest of the half.”
“My legs were literally shaking on the bench,” Castiello said. “I love being out there. It’s my last year playing college basketball, I’m trying to be out there as much as possible.”
The opportunity came for Castiello out of halftime, and his presence on the floor sparked the rest of the Monarchs. Garrett Burys scored quickly after the whistle, and Chris Patton scored on back-to-back trips to fire up the McGrane crowd and put King’s back in front.
Patton finished with 18 points and six rebounds, doing a lot of his damage on the dribble-drive and finishing through contact from Abington’s bigs.
The two squads traded leads for the majority of the half, with Jake Schalki and Alex Podolski doing the majority of the scoring for PSU Abington. Podolski led all scorers with 21 points, while Schalki had 17 points and 15 rebounds.
It wasn’t until there were about two minutes left that King’s was able to land the final blow, and it was Castiello doing the damage. Up by four, Castiello drained a deep three, and after an offensive foul gave the Monarchs the ball back, he knocked down another right in front of the King’s bench to increase the lead to 10.
“Our upperclassmen really took over the game. Carmine and Chris made some great plays in the last five minutes to help us win the game,” Andrejko said.
The Monarchs improved to 6-2 with the win, while PSU Abington fell to 2-4. King’s will be back in action on Dec. 10 against Marywood University at McGrane Gymnasium, set for a 2 p.m. tip-off.
King’s 77, PSU Abington 71
PSU ABINGTON (71) — Schalki 10 1-2 17, Podolski 6 11-12 21, Niles 6 0-1 12, Carew 2 2-2 6, , Miller 6 0-1 11, Shead 0 0-0 0, Hall-Taylor 0 0-0 0, Emmings 2 0-0 4, Cronin 0 0-0 0. Totals 32 14-18 71.
KING’S (77) — Burys 2 2-4 6, Castiello 10 3-4 19, Patton 7 4-7 18, Walsh 5 3-4 12, Karnish 2 1-3 5, Rodner-Tims 0 1-2 1, Griffin 1 0-0 2, Bennie 0 1-2 1, Hall 1 4-5 6, Gooley 1 0-0 2, Kimmick 3 0-1 5. Totals 32 19-32 77.
PSU Abington`34`37— 71
King’s`29`48 — 77
Three-point goals — PSU 7 (Schalki 4, Podolski 2, Miller). KC 6 (Castiello 4, Walsh, Kimmick).