DOYLESTOWN, PA (February 12, 2020) -- Sophomore Kevin Hunter came off the bench to lead the Monarch offense, recording a career-high 33 points on 11-of-23 shooting with five threes, adding six rebounds, as the King's College men's basketball team defeated the Delaware Valley University Aggies, 77-70, in overtime on Wednesday night in James Work Gymnasium in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play.

The opening game of the MAC Freedom double header saw both teams come out to a slow start with Delaware Valley (6-15, 2-9 MAC Freedom) leading, 11-8, with 11:27 to play in the half. King's (12-10, 5-6 MAC Freedom) trailed by as much as eight points, 23-15, with 6:54 to go before four straight points by Hunter pulled the Monarchs within four, 23-19. The Aggies rebuilt their lead, 31-24, with 3:19 left, but five points from Hunter to end the half saw King's trail by just three, 32-29, at the break.

King's carried the momentum from the end of the half to start the second half of play with a 4-1 run behind baskets by Hunter and senior Andrew Hudak to tie the game at 33 before a three by Hunter gave the Monarchs their first lead since early in the game with 16:43 to play. It was a back and forth effort over the next 8:46 of action in which neither team led by more than four points before an Aggies free throw saw the Monarchs trailing by five, 52-47, with 7:57 on the game clock.

Another 7-3 King's run cut the Delaware Valley lead to one, 55-54, off a layup by Hudak with 5:05 to play, but the Aggies answered with a 7-3 run of their own to hold the lead, 62-57. Back-to-back layups by sophomore Patrick Galvin and freshman Tyler Faux pulled the Monarchs within one with 1:58 left in regulation, and a Hunter three tied the game at 64 all with 58 ticks left on the clock. Delaware Valley answered with a layup to force King's to foul, but the Aggies could only hit the front end of the free throws. Galvin secured the rebound, and Faux found senior Josh Bailey in transition as he connected for three with eight seconds left to tie the game at 67. A Delaware Valley three at the buzzer was off the mark to force the overtime period.

A layup by Hunter and a three by Faux pushed the Monarchs ahead by five, 72-67, with 3:28 to go in the extra period before three straight points by Delaware Valley saw the hosts close within two, 72-70, with 2:33 to play. Bailey came up big again, connecting on the second-chance opportunity after an offensive rebound by senior Joe Lonardi, to hold a 74-70 advantage with 59 seconds left as the Aggies were forced to foul. Down the stretch, Faux recorded two from the charity stripe and Bailey hit one to post the final, 77-70.

Faux was the other lone Monarch in double figures, posting 12 points, while Hudak totaled eight points with eight rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and two assists. Bailey, Lonardi, and Galvin put in well-rounded efforts tonight for the Monarchs. Bailey led with six steals, adding six points and four rebounds. Lonardi totaled six rebounds and three assists, while Galvin filled the stat sheet with eight rebounds, seven points, four steals, and three assists. Junior Pat Mitchell also came off the bench to add seven points on 3-of-4 shooting for the Monarchs offensive effort.

Mike Cianciulli paced the Aggies with 20 points and four assists, and Jordan Tucker added 18. Dwayne Caine, Jr. recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards, while Francis Robles posted a game-high 12 rebounds and Thomas Ibidapo added 10 boards and three blocks.

The Monarchs shot 35.1 percent from the field on 27-of-77 shooting, including 30.0 percent from three for the game. They added 44 team rebounds in the win, while dishing out 12 assists on 27 field goals. King's also applied the defensive pressure in the game, forcing 26 Delaware Valley turnovers, committing 15 steals. Inside the box score, King's held the advantage in points off of turnovers (28-9), second chance points (19-10), points off the bench (40-23), points in the paint (32-30), and fast break points (20-6).

King's is back in action on Saturday as they celebrate their senior night in a big MAC Freedom matchup with local rival Wilkes University with tip-off set for 3:00 p.m. in McGrane Gymnasium.