CENTER VALLEY, PA (November 30, 2022) -- Despite a strong team effort on the road led by junior Will Johnson and the first-year pair of Garrett Burys and JJ Walsh, the King's College men's basketball team dropped a 78-66 decision at DeSales University on Wednesday night. The Monarchs fall to 3-4 overall and 0-2 in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play, while the Bulldogs improve to 4-2 overall with 1-0 MAC Freedom mark.
 
After DeSales (4-2, 1-0 MAC Freedom) recorded the first two baskets of the game, the King's (3-4, 0-2 MAC Freedom) offense came alive with a 5-0 spurt thanks to three points from sophomore Patrick Bennie. The teams traded baskets before the Monarchs took a seven-point lead, 13-6, off a three from first year JJ Walsh with 10:39 to go in the opening half. A timely Bulldogs spurt saw Kings' face a 27-13 deficit with 4:45 left in the half before three straight free throws from Johnson put the Monarchs back in the scoring column and sparked an 11-2 run to end the half with King's trailing, 31-24 at the break.
 
A jumper from Johnson on the opening possession of the game cut the Bulldogs lead to just five, 31-26, but DeSales took off to build a 14-point lead, 42-28, with 15:36 left in the game. The Monarchs would chip away at the deficit, but DeSales would hold on to hand King's the 78-66 loss in the MAC Freedom contest in Billera Hall.
 
Johnson led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, adding six assists, five steals, and four boards. Burys posted a strong balanced game of 16 points, connecting for 8-of-12 from the floor, with a team-high seven rebounds, four blocks, and two steals. JJ Walsh also came off the bench to record double digits, adding 14 points with four threes and two assists.
 
The Bulldogs were led by Caleb Gibbs with 12 points, nine caroms, four steals, and two blocks, while Nate Ellis matched his 12-point effort. Both Ryan Boylan and Will Pollick dished out five assists to help the DeSales effort.
 
As a team, King's shot 42.6 percent (26-61) from the floor and 41.7 percent (5-12) from beyond the arc. The Monarchs also dished out 19 assists on their 26 made field goals and collected 10 steals off 12 DeSales turnovers. Inside the box score, King's edged out DeSales 16-9 in points off turnovers and 11-10 in fast break points.
 
The Monarchs will hit the court one last time before finals week as they host their MAC Freedom opener on Saturday afternoon. King's will take on Delaware Valley University with a 3:00 p.m. tip off in McGrane Gymnasium.