KING'S MEN'S BASKETBALL DROPS FREEDOM OPENER AT EASTERN IN DEFENSIVE BATTLE, 62-52
ST. DAVID'S, PA – The King's College men's basketball team continued their struggles on the offensive end, shooting just 36.7 percent from the field in a 62-52 loss at Eastern University in both teams' Freedom Conference opener Wednesday night.
With the loss, King's slips to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in Freedom play. Eastern sees its overall mark improve to 5-1 and stand 1-0 in league games.
In a low scoring affair, the game was ultimately decided on the defensive end as both teams struggled to find any type of offensive rhythm throughout. The host Eagles built an eight point halftime lead, 25-17, thanks to 10 first half points from Collin Whipple.
King's responded in the second half, to cut the deficit to four at 25-21 with consecutive layups from rookie Kyle Hammonds and junior Kyle Stackhouse. Eastern would regain momentum with two quick scores in transition, followed by four consecutive free throws to take their largest advantage of the contest at 46-32 with just over seven minutes remaining. A deep trey from sophomore Matt Fiorino followed by another Stackhouse layup kept the Monarchs within striking distance down 46-40 with 5:03 left. It would be the closest King's would pull to as Eastern canned seven consecutive free throws down the stretch to seal the conference victory.
King's was stagnate on the offensive end, going 18-for-49 from the field and 3-for-11 (27.3 percent) from behind the arc. The Monarchs held their own in the paint, holding a 38-30 advantage on the boards. Eastern meanwhile fared much better shooting from the floor, going 23-for-48 (48.6 percent) and connecting on six three-pointers on 12 attempts.
Stackhouse led King's with 13 points and 11 rebounds, his first double-double of the season. Kevin Conroy also added 13 points and grabbed one board. Fiorino finished with nine points on 2-of-3 shooting from long range. No other Monarch scored more than five points in a game decided on the defensive end.
Whipple led the Eagles with 13 points, two rebounds, and four assists. Don Kaiser followed with 10 points, while Chaz Merriman-Brown contributed eight points and five rebounds.
The Monarchs will return to action Saturday when they welcome Freedom Conference rival Manhattanville College at 3:00 p.m. in Scandlon Gymnasium.
EASTERN UNIVERSITY 62, KING'S COLLEGE 52
KING'S COLLEGE (2-3 (0-1))
Kevin Conroy 5-10 3-4 13; Kyle Stackhouse 5-14 3-5 13; Matt Fiorino 2-5 3-5 9; Kyle Hammonds 2-5 0-0 5; Chris Hobson 2-4 0-1 4; Eric Brown 1-2 1-5 3; Mike McCready 1-3 1-2 3; Ian Oakley 0-1 2-2 2; Dan Maguschak 0-3 0-0 0; Nick Reisig 0-1 0-0 0; Joe Caffrey 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-49 13-24 52.
EASTERN UNIVERSITY (5-1 (1-0)
Collin Whipple 5-11 1-2 13; Don Kaiser 5-6 0-1 10; Dan Miller 3-5 2-4 8; Chaz Merriman-Brown 3-4 1-5 8; Tyler Stowers 3-4 0-0 7; Alex Nelson 2-8 1-1 6; Michael Donatoni 0-3 5-6 5; Corey Gordon 1-3 0-0 3; Kyle Malloy 1-3 0-0 2; Paul Trusty 0-0 0-0 0; Kyle Sims 0-0 0-0 0; Justin McClelland 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-47 10-19 62.
King's College................ 17 35 - 52
Eastern University............ 25 37 - 62
3-point goals--King's College 3-11 (Matt Fiorino 2-3; Kyle Hammonds 1-3; Chris Hobson 0-2; Eric Brown 0-1; Dan Maguschak 0-1; Joe Caffrey 0-1), Eastern University 6-12 (Collin Whipple 2-5; Alex Nelson 1-1; Corey Gordon 1-2; Tyler Stowers 1-1; Chaz Merriman-Brown 1-1; Michael Donatoni 0-2). Fouled out--King's College-None, Eastern University-Collin Whipple. Rebounds--King's College 38 (Kyle Stackhouse 11), Eastern University 30 (Alex Nelson 6). Assists--King's College 7 (Kyle Stackhouse 3), Eastern University 15 (Collin Whipple 4). Total fouls--King's College 19, Eastern University 20. Technical fouls--King's College-None, Eastern University-None. A-490
