Monarchs Earn Key Freedom Conference Win Over Manhattanville

Wilkes-Barre, Pa. – Junior Kyle Hammonds scored 28 points to help the King's College men's basketball team knock off Manhattanville 80-69 in Freedom Conference action Saturday afternoon at Scandlon Gymnasium.

With 5:37 to play in the game Hammonds put the Monarchs up 70-58 with a layup off an Ian Oakley pass. Manhattanville went on a 6-0 spurt on a Jack Bramswig layup between a pair of free throws from Mike Murray and Anthony Maestre. King's answered with two free throws from Tim O'Shea and a 3-pointer from Matt Fiorino to push the lead back to 75-64 with just 2:05 to play. King's went 5-of-7 from the charity stripe, including 4-of-4 from Fiorino, to close out the win.

The Monarchs came out of the gate fast going 5-of-5 from the field with Hammonds and Fiorino combining for four triples to jump out to a 14-4 lead at the 16:38 mark. Mike Murray hit two free throws for the Valiants, but Hammonds and Fiorino each hit 3-pointers to push the Monarch lead to 20-6 with 14:13 to play in the first half.

Manhattanville cut the lead down to 30-20 after two Murray free throws with 6:52 left in the first half. The Monarchs rallied with a 12-2 run behind eight points from Connor Hughes and four from Joe Caffrey to extend the lead out to 42-22 with 3:14 to play in the first half.

At 16:29 to play in the second Hammonds hit a 3-pointer to put King's up 56-36, but the Valiants answered with 16-5 run capped by a Murray jumper to cut the King's lead to 61-52 with 10:45 on the clock. The Monarchs scored the next five points on a 3-pointer by Hammonds and a layup by Ian Oakley to extend the lead back to 66-52. The teams traded baskets for the next four minutes to set up the final five minutes.

Hammonds went 6-of-7 from beyond the arc on his way to his game-high 28. Fiorino netted 18 points. His four 3-pointers moved him into second all-time on King's 3-point field goal list with 190.

O'Shea gave the Monarchs a double-double with 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Hughes was the fourth Monarch to score in double-figures with 12 points including a perfect 5-for-5 day from the free-throw line.

Manhattanville got 26 points from Murray who also added three helpers. Bramswig posted an impressive double-double with 20 points and 17 rebounds.

The Monarchs improved to 8-9 overall and 3-3 in the Freedom Conference while Manhattanville fell to 8-9 overall and 2-4 in league play. King's continues conference play when they make the trip to Misericordia on Wednesday for an 8:00 p.m. tip.