WILKES-BARRE, PA (December 1, 2021) -- Junior Tyler Faux recorded a career-high 33 points, but the Monarchs second-half efforts were not enough as the King's College men's basketball team fell, 93-83, to the visiting Misericordia University Cougars in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) opener on Wednesday night in McGrane Gymnasium. King's falls to 4-3 overall, 0-1 in MAC Freedom play, while Misericordia improves to 2-4 overall, 1-0 in the MAC Freedom.

Misericordia opened the game with an 8-0 run before a layup from senior Noah Tanner put the Monarchs on the board with 16:57 to go in the first half. The Cougars tried to pull away, but the Monarchs kept them within single digits until the 8:04 mark, 27-17, on a three-point play from Jake Bartholomew. It was a battle down the stretch with Misericordia leading, 48-33, at the halftime break.

The Monarchs came out firing to start the second half, opening with an 8-2 run to close within nine, 50-41, with 17:37 left in the game. A scoreless 1:12 for the Monarchs saw Misericordia build a 60-41 lead. King's chipped away at the lead and inched within nine, 72-63, off a layup from Faux with 8:07 to play. The Cougars tried to pull away again, leading by as much as 16, before the Monarchs closed the deficit to single digits, 83-74, on a pair of free throws after a steal from Tanner with just 2:09 left. 

A defensive stop led to a layup from first year Chris Patton. A costly foul saw Joseph Baldachino hit 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. Both teams traded jumpers on the next two possessions before a three from Faux in transition pulled King's within seven, 88-81, with 43 seconds to go. King's was forced to foul down down the stretch, and the Cougars hit 5-of-6 from the line to secure the 93-83 win in the MAC Freedom opener.

Faux led all scorers with his career-high 33 points on 11-of-15 shooting, including 7-of-10 from three, with three boards. Sophomore Carmine Castiello came off the bench to record 15 points,  adding five rebounds and two assists, while Patton and Tanner rounded out the scoring with 10 points each. Patton also added five caroms, and Tanner totaled a team-high five dimes and four steals. Patrick Galvin led the rebounding efforts again with seven boards.

Baldachino led the Cougars with 26 points, while Derek Smith came off the bench to add 16 tallies. Kevin Lazdowsky recorded a game-high nine boards, while Nate Kretizer dished out seven helpers.

As a team, the Monarchs went 32-for-75 (42.7%) from the field with 11 threes in the loss. They also recorded 39 team rebounds, 14 assists, and nine steals on 15 Cougars turnovers. Inside the stat sheet, King's held the advantage in points off turnovers (20-5), points in the paint (32-28), and fast break points (11-7).

King's returns to play on Saturday for a non-conference matchup at Marywood University on Saturday, December 4 at 3:00 p.m.