JANUARY 29, 2009
KING'S MEN'S BASKETBALL DROPS 80-72 DECISION TO WILKES
WILKES-BARRE -- Host Wilkes University hit on 12-of-20 shots from three-point range as the Colonels posted a 80-72 victory over King's College in a Freedom Conference matchup Thursday in the Marts Center.
With the loss, King's fell to 8-10 overall and 1-9 in Freedom Conference play while Wilkes improved to 10-7 and 6-4 in league games.
The first half was a series of small runs with Wilkes building a 11-7 lead after back-to-back three-pointers from Chris DeRojas. The Monarchs responded with a pair of buckets from Kevin Conroy, along with baskets by Kyle Stackhouse and Mike Wagner to tie the score at 15-15 with 12:16 on the clock.
Wilkes answered with a 9-0 run and built a 24-15 advantage after a Tom Kresge lay-up with 6:37 to play. The Monarchs answered with a 10-2 surge to tie the score at 26-26 with 3:29 left in the half. The Colonels countered with a 7-1 spurt to capture a 33-27 lead at the 0:57 mark.
The Monarchs, however, would end the half by scoring the final four points as an inside basket by Conroy and a short jumper from Stackhouse with 0:02 on the clock brought King's to within 33-31 at the break.
In the second half, King's quickly took the lead when baskets by Stackhouse and a traditional three-point play from Conroy gave the Monarchs a 36-35 lead. The Colonels, however, would respond with a 10-6 run to build a 45-42 advantage on a Kline bucket with 13:38 to play.
With Wilkes clinging to a 58-53 advantage, the Colonels put together a decisive 10-4 spurt to up the lead to 68-57 with 3:14 to play. The Monarchs were unable to come closer than 78-72 with 0:30 left as the Colonels made 9-of-10 foul shots down the stretch to earn the victory.
Kevin Conroy led King's with 27 points while freshman guard Kyle Stackhouse followed with a career-high 20 points. Mike Wagner chipped in with 11 points on the night.
Wilkes was paced by Tom Kresge with 20 points while Steve Kline added 16 points and 10 rebounds. DeRojas added 19 points, 15 which came in the first half.
The Monarchs will host Penn College of Technology Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
WILKES 80, KING'S 72
KING'S ((8-10, 1-9))
26-56 17-23 72.
WILKES ((10-7, 6-4))
Tom Kresge 8-12 3-4 20; Chris DeRojas 5-10 4-4 19; Steve Kline 5-10 3-5 16;
Kendall Hinze 3-4 1-4 7; Paul Huch 2-3 0-0 6; Michael Donatoni 1-2 4-4 6;
Chris Gulla 1-5 1-4 4; Anthony Gabriel 0-1 2-4 2; Kyle Ruby 0-4 0-0 0.
Totals 25-51 18-29 80.
King's......................... 31 41 - 72
Wilkes........................ 33 47 - 80
DeRojas 5-7; Steve Kline 3-3; Paul Huch 2-3; Tom Kresge 1-3; Chris Gulla
1-3; Kyle Ruby 0-2; Michael Donatoni 0-1). Fouled out--King's-Jim Schule;
(Chris Gulla 3). Total fouls--King's 21, Wilkes 19. Technical
fouls--King's-None, Wilkes-None. A-672
