LATE FREE THROWS LIFT DESALES OVER MONARCHS, 65-63
CENTER VALLEY, PA – Senior Kevin Conroy went for 25+ points for the second consecutive game, scoring a game-high 26, but host DeSales University used two last-second free throws to post a 65-63 win over King's College in Freedom Conference play Saturday afternoon from Billera Hall.
King's slips to 14-9 overall and 6-6 in league play. The Monarchs slide to fifth place in the standings with two home contests remaining. It marked the fifth game in league play the Monarchs have dropped a game by five points or fewer. DeSales remains in first place in the Freedom league improving to 18-5 overall and 9-3 in conference play.
DeSales raced out to a 11-5 lead with 13:58 left in the half, but two straight hoops inside from Conroy brought the Monarchs back to within two. The comeback was complete when King's Ian Oakley notched a bucket inside off an assist from Adam Brasky as the Monarchs took a 17-16 advantage with 7:09 on the clock. Two free throws from Conroy followed by a Kyle Hammonds trey kept King's ahead 24-22 with just under three minutes left in the first frame. From there, rookie Chris Hobson dialed up a deep three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to give King's a 28-25 lead heading to the break.
King's extended their lead in the second half as the Monarchs continued to pound the ball inside to Conroy. Conroy connected on three free throws followed by a bucket inside to give King's their largest lead of the contest, 39-32, with 16:04 remaining. The Bulldogs then used a quick 7-0 run over the next three minutes to knot the game at 39.
The game continued to remain tied until Conroy made good on a Stackhouse pass in the paint to give King's a 58-56 advantage with 2:48 left. Two straight scores from DeSales gave the hosts the lead back, 60-58. Conroy was up to the task again tying the game at 60 with a bucket inside one possession later. From there, DeSales' Brian Hunter hit a huge three-pointer to put the Bulldogs up three with 1:12 remaining. King's didn't lose focus as Conroy hit one of two free throws before corralling a Hunter missed trey on the Bulldogs next possession.
Down two with 20 seconds remaining, King's went to Hammonds and the freshman delivered slashing to the hoop to tie the game at 63 with :12 left. The Bulldogs decided not to use a timeout and instead pushed the ball up the floor where Brett Moyer was fouled in the post with :4 remaining. Moyer made both free tosses to put DeSales up 65-63. King's had one last chance to tie/win the game, but an inbound pass to Stackhouse went off his hands and out of bounds as time expired.
Conroy was the lone Monarch in double figures shooting an efficient 7-for-13 from the floor and 12-for-17 from the line, adding a game-high nine rebounds. Brasky came off the bench to finish with eight points and two rebounds. Hobson added seven points, while Stackhouse contributed four points, eight rebounds, and six assists. The Bulldogs did a nice job recovering to King's shooters, limiting Monarch sharpshooter Matt Fiorino to only three points on one trey.
Hunter led DeSales with 18 points and four assists. Moyer added 14 points, 12 coming in the first half of play. Mike Coleman finished with 10 points, while Brian Kerwin contributed eight points on two three-pointers.
King's will conclude their regular season slate at home hosting both Misericordia University and Wilkes University this week. The Cougars travel to Wilkes-Barre Tuesday at 8:00 p.m., while the cross-town rivalry renews Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in Scandlon Gymnasium.
DESALES UNIVERSITY 65, KING'S COLLEGE 63
KING'S COLLEGE (14-9, 6-6 Conf.)
Kevin Conroy 7-13 12-17 26; Adam Brasky 4-4 0-1 8; Chris Hobson 3-6 0-0 7; Kyle Hammonds 2-8 0-0 5; Nick Reisig 1-7 2-2 5; Kyle Stackhouse 0-5 4-6 4; Matt Fiorino 1-5 0-0 3; Joe Caffrey 1-2 1-2 3; Ian Oakley 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 20-51 19-28 63.
DESALES UNIVERSITY (18-5, 9-3 Conf.)
Brian Hunter 7-17 1-2 18; Brett Moyer 6-8 2-3 14; Mike Coleman 5-8 0-0 10; Brian Kerwin 2-5 2-2 8; Tom Marshall 1-3 2-2 4; Greg Peters 2-6 0-0 4; Paul Pammer 1-3 0-0 3; Kyle Hash 1-2 0-0 2; Bob Zanneo 1-5 0-0 2; Andrew Kohler 0-1 0-0 0; Matt Poorman 0-0 0-0 0; Jamey Bercier 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-59 7-9 65.
King's College................ 28 35 - 63
DeSales University............ 25 40 - 65
3-point goals--King's College 4-20 (Chris Hobson 1-3; Nick Reisig 1-6; Kyle Hammonds 1-6; Matt Fiorino 1-4; Joe Caffrey 0-1), DeSales University 6-22 (Brian Hunter 3-7; Brian Kerwin 2-2; Paul Pammer 1-2; Tom Marshall 0-1; Greg Peters 0-2; Kyle Hash 0-1; Bob Zanneo 0-3; Andrew Kohler 0-1; Mike Coleman 0-3). Fouled out--King's College-None, DeSales University-None. Rebounds--King's College 37 (Kevin Conroy 9), DeSales University 32 (Brett Moyer 7). Assists--King's College 12 (Kyle Stackhouse 6), DeSales University 12 (Brian Hunter 4). Total fouls--King's College 16, DeSales University 17. Technical fouls--King's College-None, DeSales University-None. A-625
