DECEMBER 3, 2008
KING'S FALLS SHORT AGAINST WILKES, 80-71
WILKES-BARRE – The King's College men's basketball team dropped its Freedom Conference opener by a 80-71 count to visiting Wilkes University Wednesday in Scandlon Gymnasium.
With the loss, the Monarchs fell to 4-2 overall while Wilkes improved to 3-2.
King's fell behind by 10 points at 18-8 with 11:23 remaining in the first half but the Monarchs cut the lead to 20-19 after a pair of foul shots by Kevin Conroy with 7:30 on the clock. After the teams traded basket, Wilkes would use a 14-2 surge to extend the lead to 36-23 on a bucket down low by Steve Kline. King's would cut the lead to 38-33 but a Wilkes three-pointer in the final minute of play gave the Colonels a 41-33 lead at the halftime break.
In the second half the Monarchs would whittle the lead to 46-44 after a three-pointer by Chase McGowan and one-of-two foul shots from Kyle Stackhouse with 16:28 remaining. The Monarchs would remain close as Wilkes held a 56-51 advantage following a jumper by Monarch freshman Nick Reisig with 13:12 on the clock. The Colonels, however, would outscore King's 7-2 over the next three minutes to stretch the lead to 63-53.
King's would slowly chip away and came to within 74-71 after a layup by Kevin Conroy with 1:11 on the clock. Wilkes would answer when Kline concerted a conventional three-point play to give the Colonels a 77-71 lead with 0:52 left in the contest. With King's forced to foul, the Colonels would season the game by making three-of-four charity tosses the rest of the way.
Conroy led King's with 26 points and four rebounds. McGowan followed with 16 points and three boards while Jim Schule tallied 13 points and four rebounds
Wilkes was led by Tom Kresge with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Chris DeRojas also netted 21 points. Kline finished with 19 points and eight boards as Wilkes held a commanding 40-26 rebounding advantage.
WILKES 80, KING'S COLLEGE 71
WILKES (3-2, 1-0)
Chris DeRojas 6-11 5-7 21; Tom Kresge 6-12 9-12 21; Steve Kline 7-12 5-5 19; Chris Gulla 4-7 0-3 9; Kyle Ruby 1-2 0-0 2; Michael Donatoni 1-4 0-0 2; Anthony Gabriel 1-2 0-1 2; John Defeo 0-1 2-2 2; Kendall Hinze 1-1 0-0 2; Paul Huch 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-52 21-30 80.
KING'S COLLEGE (4-2, 0-1)
Wilkes........................ 41 39 - 80
King's......................... 33 38 - 71
3-point goals--Wilkes 5-11 (Chris DeRojas 4-5; Chris Gulla 1-3; Kyle Ruby 0-1; Michael Donatoni 0-1; Tom Kresge 0-1), King's College 3-11 (Mike Wagner 1-2; Jim Schule 1-3; Chase McGowan 1-1; Wil Acevedo 0-1; Nick Reisig 0-2; Adam Brasky 0-1; Eric Brown 0-1). Fouled out--Wilkes-None, King's College-Jim Schule; Mike Wagner. Rebounds--Wilkes 40 (Tom Kresge 11), King's College 26 (Mike Wagner 6). Assists--Wilkes 9 (Steve Kline 4), King's College 8 (Kyle Stackhouse 3). Total fouls--Wilkes 22, King's College 22. Technical fouls--Wilkes-None, King's College-TEAM. A-2150
