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WILKES-BARRE — When Jason Kenny finally missed for the first time Thursday night, Misericordia was already well on their way to completing a season sweep of King’s College.

Kenny scored 37 points, including 23 before the first miss, to lead the Cougars to a 94-85 Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom road victory.

The junior guard did not get off a shot for almost 6 ½ minutes to start the game. Then, he took off.

“In warm-ups, I was just hitting from all over the place,” Kenny said. “I had a lot of confidence going into the game.

“King’s is our rival so I always play my best game against them and get the win.”

Kenny got started by making four 3-pointers in a span of 2:12. He hit a total of five from long range to go along with two three-point plays while scoring 23 points in 11:16. In doing so, he helped the Cougars run out to a 20-point, first-half lead on the way to their seventh straight win in the series.

“I always look to drive first before the 3s, but they were sagging off me to begin with,” said Kenny, whose six 3-pointers in the game all came from different spots around the arc. “So, once I hit some, they started playing up more and I just tried to use my first quick step to get to the basket.”

The combination of shooting range and driving ability has helped the Mid Valley graduate lead the MAC Freedom in scoring this season.

Kenny made sure King’s spent the last 34 minutes playing from behind. He opened the second half with another three-point play and his last 3-pointer in the first 2:10.

The Monarchs kept pushing and got within five late, but Misericordia held on.

“I thought our defense in the first half was great,” Misericordia coach Willie Chandler said. “ … I thought in the second half we got comfortable. I think guys though the game was over.”

Kenny and Tre’ Fields made sure King’s had a lot to try to overcome.

Kenny finished two points short of his career-high by going 10-for-12 from the floor, 6-for-8 from 3-point range and 11-for-13 from the line. He also found time to add five assists, five rebounds and two blocked shots.

“Jason’s the quickest guy I’ve coached since I’ve been here; the quickest guy I’ve been around, including my playing days,” said Chandler, Misericordia’s all-time leading scorer. “He gets by you and it’s one, two steps and he’s making a layup. Teams get nervous about that so they back off and Jason’s a career 40-percent, 3-point shooter.

“He hasn’t been shooting as well this year, so teams have been trying to stop him from going to the rim. If he get’s it going like he did tonight, he’s dangerous.”

Fields fired in 27 points in 31 minutes, going 10-for-13, 4-for-6 and 3-for-3.

“They all shot the ball really well,” King’s coach J.P. Andrejko said.

Tony Harding and Noah Rivera combined for 19 points and 20 rebounds to help Misericordia improve to 8-3 in the Freedom and 13-9 overall going into Saturday’s game at Wilkes. The Colonels took sole possession of the Freedom lead, a game in front of the Cougars, by winning a first-place showdown at DeSales, 72-67, Thursday night.

“If all those guys get going, it’s tough to match up with us,” Chandler said.

The Monarchs (6-5, 10-12) found that out while the Cougars were taking a 43-23 lead with 3:50 left in the first half.

King’s put five players in double figures.

Noah Tanner had 20 points. Connor Callejas, the Freedom’s second-leading scorer, added 16.

Chris Fazzini, a senior from Crestwood, had 15 points, nine rebounds and three steals. He scored the 1,000th point of his career on his second basket, a foul-line jumper 4:30 into the game.

Lenny Radziak came off the bench to also score 15 while Tyler Millan added 10.

Misericordia finished the game shooting over 57 percent from the floor and 56 percent from 3-point range while also winning the rebounding battle, 42-26.

Big win for Lady Monarchs

Rebecca Prociak scored 10 of her 18 points during a fourth-quarter comeback that allowed King’s to avenge its biggest loss of the season with a 74-59 victory over visiting Misericordia.

King’s improved to 9-2 in the Freedom Conference standings and 14-8 overall. One of the two Freedom losses came, 64-38, at Misericordia Jan. 17.

The Lady Monarchs scored the final 15 points to break away from the game’s last tie. Sophomores Prociak, a Holy Redeemer graduate, and Mackenzie Yori, a Hazleton Area grad, had five points each in the closing run.

Yori had been held to two points before Olivia Hoffman found her coming off a screen for an open 3-pointer and 66-59 lead with 3:27 to play.

Hoffman, a senior forward from Wyoming Valley West, fought through the flu to contribute in many ways. She had 12 points, eight rebounds, six blocked shots, six assists and two steals.

Lindsey Dippre came off the bench to score nine of her 13 points in the first half to give King’s a 33-30 lead.

Freshman Quinetessa Zamolyi hit her first three 3-point shots of the second half to help Misericordia (7-4, 14-8) move in front by as many as five and take a 49-48 lead into the fourth quarter.

Paige Wampole led Misericordia with 15 points and nine rebounds. Zamolyi had 14 points. Rachel Carmody grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds before fouling out.

MEN

Misericordia 94, King’s 85

MISERICORDIA (94) — Tony Harding 4-7 2-4 11, Noah Rivera 3-9 2-6 8, Tre’ Fields 10-13 3-3 27, Jason Kenny 10-12 11-13 37, Stone McCreary 3-6 0-0 8, Tyerell Mann 1-4 1-2 3, Patrick Douthit 0-2 0-1 0, Brendan Leonard 0-1 0-0 0, Bryce Mondorff 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-54 19-29 94.

KING’S (85) — Chris Fazzini 6-10 3-6 15, Noah Tanner 9-13 0-1 20, Joshua Bailey 3-7 0-0 7, Connor Callejas 3-14 8-8 16, Tyler Millan 3-8 2-2 10, Dan Angelo 0-2 0-0 0, Lenny Radziak 4-8 4-4 15, Tony Maloney 0-1 0-0 0, James Wills 0-0 0-0 0, Pat Mitchell 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 29-65 17-21 85.

Halftime – Misericordia, 48-36. Three-point shooting — M 13-23 (Kenny 6-8, Fields 4-6, McCreary 2-4, Harding 1-2, Douthit 0-1, Mann 0-2), K 10-29 (Radziak 3-4, Tanner 2-3, Millan 2-6, Callejas 2-7, Bailey 1-4, Angelo 0-1, Maloney 0-1, Fazzini 0-3).

WOMEN

King’s 74, Misericordia 59

MISERICORDIA (59) — Rachel Carmody 2-9 0-0 4, Paige Wampole 7-9 1-5 15, Japriya Carroll 4-9 2-2 12, Kalynn Sefcik 2-6 0-0 4, Quintessa Zamolyi 4-14 2-2 14, Liz Waleski 0-1 0-0 0, Leanne Forsyth 2-2 0-3 4, Erica Haefele 0-3 0-0 0, Jaclyn Hajec 2-4 0-0 4, Brenna Karnish 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 24-62 5-12 59.

WILKES (59) — Olivia Hoffman 6-11 0-0 12, Alexis Steeber 6-17 4-6 17, Rebecca Prociak 7-10 4-15 18, Mackenzie Yori 3-10 0-0 7, Kayla Dillinger 0-0 0-0 0, Lindsey Dippre 4-8 2-4 13, Sara Wolbert 1-1 0-0 2, Erin Schmidt 0-0 0-0 0, Rachael DeTore 2-3 0-0 5. Totals 29-60 10-15 74.

Misericordia`17`13`19`10 — 59

King’s`15`18`15`26 — 75

3-point goals — MU 6-25 (Zamolyi 4-10, Carroll 2-4, Hajec 0-1, Karnish 0-1, Waleski 0-1, Carmody 0-2, Haefele 0-2). KC 6-14 (Dippre 3-4, DeTore 1-2, Yori 1-3, Steeber 1-5).

Kings Alexis Steeber (34) goes for the lay-up against Misericordia. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020918Kings-v-Miseri-Girls1.jpg.optimal.jpgKings Alexis Steeber (34) goes for the lay-up against Misericordia. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

Kings Mackenzie Yori (5) drives the ball to the net. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020918Kings-v-Miseri-Girls2.jpg.optimal.jpgKings Mackenzie Yori (5) drives the ball to the net. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

Misericordia’s Brenna Karnish (33) shoots over the Kings defence. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020918Kings-v-Miseri-Girls3.jpg.optimal.jpgMisericordia’s Brenna Karnish (33) shoots over the Kings defence. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

Kings Rebecca Prociak (44) reaches for the rebound. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020918Kings-v-Miseri-Girls4.jpg.optimal.jpgKings Rebecca Prociak (44) reaches for the rebound. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

Noah Rivera (34) of Misericordia tries to get to the net. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020918Kings-v-Miseri-Boys1.jpg.optimal.jpgNoah Rivera (34) of Misericordia tries to get to the net. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

Chris Fazzini and Tyerell Mann try to get the rebound. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020918Kings-v-Miseri-Boys2.jpg.optimal.jpgChris Fazzini and Tyerell Mann try to get the rebound. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

Misericordia’s Tre Fields goes up for the lay-up. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020918Kings-v-Miseri-Boys3.jpg.optimal.jpgMisericordia’s Tre Fields goes up for the lay-up. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

Stone McCreary passes the ball through the Kings defence. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020918Kings-v-Miseri-Boys5.jpg.optimal.jpgStone McCreary passes the ball through the Kings defence. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

Misericordias Tyerell Mann (2) shoots. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020918Kings-v-Miseri-Boys4.jpg.optimal.jpgMisericordias Tyerell Mann (2) shoots. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

Jason Kenny shoot a few three-pointers in the first period giving Misericordia a good lead. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020918Kings-v-Miseri-Boys6.jpg.optimal.jpgJason Kenny shoot a few three-pointers in the first period giving Misericordia a good lead. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

By Tom Robinson

For Times Leader

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