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<p>It starts with one win.</p><p>&#8220;Yes. And every team needs that,&#8221; King&#8217;s coach J.P. Andrejko said after Wednesday&#8217;s loss to Misericordia. &#8220;That&#8217;s where we&#8217;re at. Get the monkey off your back and move on. Easier said than done.&#8221;</p><p>Wilkes got that big victory on Wednesday. King&#8217;s is looking to get it on Saturday.</p><p>The city rivals square off for the first time this season on Saturday at Scandlon Gymnasium. Both had started the week at the bottom of the Freedom Conference standings, but the Colonels got a nice boost from going on the road and knocking off perennial contender DeSales, 78-74.</p><p>Most uplifting for the Colonels (8-8, 2-3) was that they were able to hold off the Bulldogs down the stretch.</p><p>&#8220;We have to find a way to finish possessions,&#8221; Colonels coach Izzi Metz said earlier this month after a handful of close games went the other way in the final minutes. &#8220;Compete and finish possessions off, particularly in the second half.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re still learning. In conference play, you have to be able to stop the shot and stop the drive.&#8221;</p><p>Metz had seen his team sunk by late three-pointers &#8212; on the game clock as well as the shot clock &#8212; in losses to Manhattanville and Delaware Valley.</p><p>Against DeSales, Wilkes had a huge surge in the second half, outscoring the Bulldogs 42-33.</p><p>What could have been another tough loss at the end &#8212; DeSales had pulled within 74-73 with 43 seconds left &#8212; turned as the defense got the key stop it needed while leading scorers Connor Evans and Marcus Robinson both got to the basket.</p><p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t just come down and pass, shoot every possession,&#8221; Metz said. &#8220;You&#8217;ve gotta make a team work. &#8230; There&#8217;s no particular number, but we&#8217;ve been a team that&#8217;s assisted on a high percentage of our baskets.&#8221;</p><p>For King&#8217;s (4-11, 0-5), the ball movement hasn&#8217;t been the big issue, but finishing. Andrejko said he had never encountered a shooting slump like this one before.</p><p>The Monarchs defense came through against the high-scoring Cougars on Wednesday, but both teams finished with their fewest points of the season as Misericordia won 62-48.</p><p>&#8220;In this league, everyone knows each other,&#8221; Andrejko said. &#8220;Everyone&#8217;s prepared. You need to make plays to win games. And right now we&#8217;re just not making enough plays.&#8221;</p><p>The doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m. with the women&#8217;s game, as both King&#8217;s and Wilkes are looking for their first conference win of the season.</p><p>Elsewhere in the area, Misericordia will play host to DeSales at the Anderson Center.</p><p><strong>King&#8217;s fundraiser</strong></p><p>The Monarchs are teaming up with A Moment of Magic, a foundation that supports pediatric cancer patients, during Saturday&#8217;s games.</p><p>Founded by Kylee McGrane, the great-granddaughter of former King&#8217;s basketball coach Bob McGrane, the organization has college-age volunteers dress in costumes to visit children&#8217;s hospitals and institutions.</p><p>Baskets will be passed around during both the women&#8217;s and men&#8217;s games. When the basketball is over, a fundraiser will be held at Rodano&#8217;s on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre. Admission will cost $25 for the event, which features food, drinks and raffles.</p><p>More information can be found at <a href="http://www.amomentofmagic.org/" target="_blank">amomentofmagic.org</a>.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Andrew Hudak and King&#8217;s out-rebounded Misericordia by 10 on Wednesday. The battle on the boards will be key against Wilkes on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Kings-Misericorida-3-CMYK.jpg</photo0><caption0>Andrew Hudak and King&#8217;s out-rebounded Misericordia by 10 on Wednesday. The battle on the boards will be key against Wilkes on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>UP NEXT</strong></p><p>Wilkes at King&#8217;s</p><p>Women: 1 p.m.</p><p>Men: 3 p.m.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div>

King’s, Wilkes hoops ready to square off in city rivalry game