READING -- The King's College men's basketball team trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half and a valiant second half rally fell just short as the Monarchs dropped a 59-56 decision to host Alvernia University Saturday in Reading.

With the loss King's fell to 10-11 overall and 2-10 in Freedom Conference play.  Alvernia. meanwhile, improved to 10-12 and 6-7 in league games.

The Monarchs would never lead in the game and went into the halftime break trailing 40-31.  In the second half, King's would hold Alvernia to just 19 points over the final 20 minutes of play and nearly rallied all the way back.

 

King's trailed by 50-42 with 9:13 left in the contest when the Monarchs attempted their comeback. A lay-up by Harry Schlichter and a three-pointer from Mike Wagner drew King's to within 50-47 with 7:55 to play. Alvernia answered with a three-pointer from David Washington to stretch the lead to 53-47 with 6:39 on the clock. The Monarchs would later cut the lead to 53-51 on a short jumper from Schlichter with 1:59 remaining, but Washington countered with another big three-pointer to stretch the Crusader lead to 56-51 with 0:22 left.

King's used a pair of foul shots by Kyle Stackhouse to cut the score to 56-53 with 0:18 to go. After David Dubbs made one-of-twp free throws to push the Alvernia lead back up to 57-53 with 0:13 on the clock, Stackhouse cut the lead to 57-56 with a traditional three-point play with 0:07 left in the game.

 

With the Monarchs forced to foul, Washington made good on two charity tosses with 0:06 to play to give the Crusaders a 59-56 lead. The Monarchs had one last attempt to tie the score by Wagner's three-pointer was off the mark as the Crusaders held on for the victory.

Jim Schule led King's with 14 points and seven rebounds while Stackhouse followed with 13 points and six rebounds. Nick Reisig chipped in with nine points.  

Washington led Alvernia with 19 points.

The Monarchs retuen to action Wednesday when King's hosts DeSales University at 8:00 p.m. in Scandlon Gymnasium.

ALVERNIA 59, KING'S 56

KING'S (10-11, 2-10 Conf)
Jim Schule 5-8 4-5 14; Kyle Stackhouse 5-5 3-5 13; Nick Reisig 3-7 0-0 9; Harry Schlichter 2-5 2-2 6; Mike Wagner 1-5 2-2 5; Kevin Conroy 2-10 0-2 4; Bill Joyce 1-1 0-0 3; Adam Brasky 1-3 0-0 2; Wil Acevedo 0-1 0-0 0; Tim Sanderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-45 11-16 56.

ALVERNIA (10-12, 6-7 Conf.)
David Washington 5-10 5-5 19; Derek Dubbs 4-6 2-3 12; Tyrone Bradley 5-8 0-1 10; Jeff Amponsah 2-7 2-2 6; Tim Walters 2-11 0-0 5; Eric Barefield 2-3 0-0 4; Charlie Hughes 1-7 0-0 3; Nick Rivera 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-52 9-11 59.

King's........................   31   25  -   56
Alvernia......................   40   19  -   59

3-point goals--King's 5-13 (Nick Reisig 3-6; Mike Wagner 1-5; Bill Joyce 1-1; Adam Brasky 0-1), Alvernia 8-22 (David Washington 4-6; Derek Dubbs 2-4; Charlie Hughes 1-5; Tim Walters 1-5; Jeff Amponsah 0-2). Fouled out--King's-None, Alvernia-None. Rebounds--King's 31 (Jim Schule 7), Alvernia 29 (Tyrone Bradley 11). Assists--King's 14 (Kevin Conroy 3; Mike Wagner 3), Alvernia 14 (Eric Barefield 5). Total fouls--King's 16, Alvernia 18. Technical fouls--King's-None, Alvernia-None. A-750.