Box Score
JANUARY 23, 2013

MONARCH MEN FALL AT MISERI, 63-54

DALLAS – Host Misericordia University placed three players in double-figures en route to posting a 63-54 victory over visiting King's College in a Freedom Conference matchup Wednesday night in Dallas.

With the loss, King's fell to 8-10 overall and 3-4 in the Freedom Conference. The Cougars improved to 9-9 and 5-2 in league play.

The Monarchs struggled to find a rhythm early on as Misericordia opened up a 16-5 lead with 10:05 left in the opening stanza. King's finally got some offense when Tim O'Shea hit a pair of foul shots, Connor Hughes followed with a bucket, and O'Shea converted a traditional three-point play to bring the Monarchs to within 16-12 with 6:48 remaining.

After a Cougar free throw, Hughes converted a shot jumper to cut the score to 17-14 with 5:53 on the clock. Misericordia, however, answered with five consecutive points by Steven Ware to stretch the lead to 22-14 at the 1:36 mark. King's cut the lead to 22-16 at the half when O'Shea scored the final points of the opening stanza with a basket with 1:08 to play. O'Shea led King's with seven points at he break while the Monarchs top-two scorers Kyle Hammonds and Matt Fiorino were held to a combined three points while the Monarchs shot just 21.4 (6-28) from the floor.

In the second half King's quickly scored on a pair of foul shots by Hammomds and a bucket by Tom Heston. After a pair of Cougar baskets, King's went on a 8-0 run and took its first lead of the game at 28-26 on a Hammonds basket with 13:37 remaining. But in the process, trouble arose for the Monarchs when starting point-guard Joe Caffrey went to the bench with his fourth foul of the game with 14:04 to play.

The Cougars took advantage with a 10-2 spurt to take a 36-30 lead and the Monarchs lost another starter when center Tom Heston picked up his fourth foul and also went to the bench.

Misericordia extended the lead to 48-37 after a three-pointer by Jesse Urich and a three-point play by Ware with 6:46 on the clock. The Monarchs made one last run when it closed to within 52-47 after a three-point play by Hammonds, a bucket from Fiorino, and an inside basket by Oakley at the 2:15 mark

But the Monarchs would draw no closer as the Cougars held on for the victory.

Hammonds led King's with 21, including 18 second-half points. O'Shea finished with seven points and six boards while Oakley,, Hughes, and Heston added six. Fiorino was held to just three points after entering the game averaging 12 each contest. The Monarchs shot just 30.4 (17-56) percent from the game and were outrebounded 43-38

The Cougars were paced by Ware with 18 points, including 10-of-13 from the foul line. Sergio added 11 while Evans posted 10.

King's returns to action Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. Freedom Conference matchup at DeSales.