KING'S MEN'S BASKETBALL USES BALANCED EFFORT IN 80-74 VICTORY OVER DELAWARE VALLEY
WILKES-BARRE – Senior forward Kevin Conroy scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and junior guard Kyle Stackhouse (left) added 18 points, all coming in the second half, as host King's College posted an 80-74 Freedom Conference win over Delaware Valley Wednesday night in Scandlon Gymnasium.
With the win King's improves to 8-5 overall and evens its conference mark at 2-2. Delaware Valley drops to 6-6 overall and suffers its first league loss standing 3-1 on the year.
King's took their largest lead of the second half, 64-56, after a Stackhouse three-point play and subsequent jumper. Delaware Valley battled back and cut the deficit to three when Jeremy Beckett took a full court pass and scored in transition, 70-67. The Monarchs went inside to Conroy on their next possession and the big man delivered with a short hook to extend the lead to 72-67 with 1:42 left on the clock. The lead stayed at five as the Aggies James Jones sank two free throws on Delaware Valley's next possession, before two free throws from rookie guard Kyle Hammonds. Jones, who was nearly unstoppable off the dribble the entire contest drilled a deep trey with heavy defensive pressure to cut the King's lead to two, 74-72 with :55 seconds remaining. From there, King's went inside again to Conroy, but the senior was doubled teamed and passed to a wide open Nick Reisig at the top of the key who connected from behind the arc to push the lead back to five, 77-72 with :29 left. Following a missed shot, Delaware Valley was forced to foul and Hammonds made one of two from the stripe before scoring a wide open layup as the Monarchs broke through the full court pressure to seal the important conference victory.
The first half saw both teams get into a comfort level offensively as both squads shot over 40 percent from the floor. Jones scored the games first five points for Delaware Valley as the Aggies took their only lead of the game just five minutes into the contest. Two layups from senior guard Adam Brasy and two free throws from Conroy put King's up 28-22 with 4:24 left in the half. Hammonds would score inside followed by three straight buckets from Conroy as King's took a 36-31 advantage to the break.
Conroy, who saw constant double and triple teams throughout, finished an efficient 10-for-15 from the field on way to his team-high 24 points. Stackhouse proved to be the difference for King's, posting all 18 of his points in the second frame. The junior point-guard also added seven rebounds and five assists. Hammonds and Reisig each contributed 11 points and combined for 14 rebounds. The Monarchs shot a blistering 54.7 percent (29-53) from the floor and canned 18-of-25 free throws. King's also held a big advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Aggies 37-24.
The loss overshadowed a brilliant performance from Jones, who finished with a game-high 31 points on 12-for-20 shooting. He added four rebounds and five assists, playing all 40 minutes for Delaware Valley. Chris Ellis joined Jones in double figures with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Nathan Bollinger contributed 11 points.
King's will continue their Freedom Conference slate Saturday when they travel cross-town to face Wilkes University at 3:00 p.m.
KING'S COLLEGE 80, DELAWARE VALLEY 74
DELAWARE VALLEY (6-6, 3-1 Freedom)
James Jones 12-20 4-4 31; Chris Ellis 6-12 4-4 17; Nathan Bollinger 5-11 0-1 11; Jeremy Beckett 3-8 3-5 9; Jason Goldheimer 2-6 0-0 6; Michael Colacci 0-1 0-0 0; Chris Jermyn 0-2 0-0 0; Nate Lewis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-60 11-14 74.
KING'S COLLEGE (8-5, 2-2 Freedom)
Kevin Conroy 10-15 4-7 24; Kyle Stackhouse 7-10 4-5 18; Kyle Hammonds 3-6 5-6 11; Nick Reisig 3-7 2-2 11; Chris Hobson 2-3 2-2 6; Adam Brasky 3-4 0-0 6; Matt Fiorino 1-5 1-1 4; Ian Oakley 0-1 0-2 0; Joe Caffrey 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 29-53 18-25 80.
Delaware Valley............... 31 43 - 74
King's College................ 36 44 - 80
3-point goals--Delaware Valley 7-24 (James Jones 3-6; Jason Goldheimer 2-6; Chris Ellis 1-3; Nathan Bollinger 1-7; Chris Jermyn 0-1; Michael Colacci 0-1), King's College 4-13 (Nick Reisig 3-5; Matt Fiorino 1-4; Kyle Hammonds 0-2; Adam Brasky 0-1; Joe Caffrey 0-1). Fouled out--Delaware Valley-None, King's College-None. Rebounds--Delaware Valley 24 (Chris Ellis 8), King's College 37 (Kyle Hammonds 9). Assists--Delaware Valley 10 (James Jones 5), King's College 17 (Kyle Stackhouse 5). Total fouls--Delaware Valley 19, King's College 16. Technical fouls--Delaware Valley-None, King's College-None. A-100
