CLARKS SUMMIT, PA (November 25, 2019) -- The King's College men's basketball team was able to withstand a late comeback effort by the Defenders, as they posted a 74-71 victory over Clarks Summit University. The Monarchs now improve to 5-2 for the season with their win just before the holiday.

King's controlled the first half, opening the game with a three by junior Brad Kalinowski just four seconds into the contest. The Monarchs continued to build their lead, reaching their largest advantage of 17 just before the half on a fastbreak layup by freshman Bryan Henderson as they entered the locker room leading, 41-24.

The second half started with a run of empty possessions for both teams before the Defenders scored on a layup by Gideon Agbo with 17:52 left. King's struggled to score early in the second half, but maintained a double-digit lead until the 12:59 mark when Gabe Lazarre hit a three-pointer to pull Clarks Summit within nine, 49-40. That is when the Monarchs offense came to life, building their lead back to 14 on a three by Henderson, 57-43, with 9:57 left in the game.

Then at the 6:47 mark, the Defenders pulled within nine, 63-54, as the start of a 15-0 run to see the Monarchs trail for the first time in the game, 66-63, with 4:56 remaining. The teams traded baskets before a three by sophomore JJ Glinsky regained the lead for the Monarchs, 69-68, with 2:07 left on the game clock. Each team connected for another three on their next possessions as the Monarchs led, 72-71. Clarks Summit was forced to call a timeout and were set to inbound the ball in front of their bench. On that possession, Kalinowski forced a turnover and was immediately fouled with 6.0 seconds left. He sunk both attempts from the charity stripe to seal the win for the Monarchs, posting the final 74-71.

Henderson was excellent off the bench, totaling a career-high 20 points on 5-8 shooting, with a team-high four assists, three boards, and a steal. Also in double-figures for the Monarchs was Kalinowski with 15 points, five rebounds, one assist, one block, and a steal. Pulling down a team-high seven rebounds was senior Joe Lonardi, and sophomore Patrick Galvin totaled a team-high three steals.

As a team, the Monarchs connected on 25-of-52 shots, 48.1 percent, and totaled eight three's. King's was able to out-rebound Clarks Summit, 33-27, as well as totaling 11 assists and nine steals. Looking into the box score, the Monarchs held the advantage in points in the paint (28-26) and fast break points (17-10).

The Monarchs are off for the Thanksgiving break and return to action on Sunday, December 1 with tip-off at 2:00 p.m. as they face Marywood University in McGrane Gymnasium. They will finish their 2019 schedule with a road game at Drew University on Wednesday, December 4 at 7:00 p.m.