WILKES-BARRE, PA (January 10, 2024) -- A hot shooting night for the King's College men's basketball team was not enough as the hosts went toe-to-toe with visiting DeSales University before dropping the 71-65 final in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play on Wednesday night. The Monarchs fall to 9-5 overall and 1-2 in the conference standings, while the Bulldogs, who were receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com poll, improve to 12-2 with a 3-0 MAC Freedom mark.
 
A competitive contest from the start saw King's (9-5, 1-2 MAC Freedom) take the early 7-5 edge before DeSales (12-2, 3-0 MAC Freedom) tied the game at 7-7 with 15:53 remaining in the half. After two ties and a lead change, the Bulldogs went ahead by five, 17-12, with 10:58 to go, but back-to-back scores from Ben Rodner-Tims and Patrick Bennis drew the Monarchs within one, 17-16, with 8:33 left in the first. DeSales continued to hold their edge, never leading by more than two possessions, before holding a 3q1-27 advantage over King's at the break.
 
The Monarchs started the second half of play strong, out scoring DeSales 7-2 over the first two minutes of action to retake the lead. After matching efforts with King's ahead, 41-40, with 13:50 on the game clock, the Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run as the Monarchs faced a 49-42 deficit with 10:50 to play. The hosts battled back within four on a jumper from Matt Christian, but DeSales responded with another spurt to take a nine-point edge over King's with 6:56 left.
 
The Monarchs continued their fight, but each opportunity to cut the deficit to a single-possession game was met with a Bulldog's bucket. King's made one final push as Jake Karnish hit a corner jumper off an offensive rebound from Garrett Burys to close within four, 69-65, with 15 ticks remaining, but Caleb Gibbs hit both from the charity stripe to ice the contest and hand the Monarchs the 71-65 loss in McGrane Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.
 
King's was led by Eamonn Walsh with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting, adding three rebounds and three assists, while Chris Patton totaled 13 points with three triples, three boards, two assists, and a steal. Rodner-Tims rounded out the leading scorers with 12 points, collecting a team-high five caroms, dishing out three helpers, and grabbing one takeaway. Jake Karnish had a strong shooting night, adding nine tallies while going 3-for-5 from the floor, and Burys matched that 3-for-5 effort with eight points. Additionally, Ray Gooley came off the bench to dish out three assists in the loss.
 
Caleb Gibbs led all scorers with 23 points, going 7-for-9 from the floor, with eight rebounds, while Jordan Holmqvist came off the bench to add 19 points and four assists.
 
King's had a hot shooting night, connecting for 54.3% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc, dishing out 16 assists on their 25 field goals. The Monarchs also scored the only four fastbreak points in the contest.
 
The Monarchs return to McGrane Gymnasium for another tough match up as they host the Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon. Tip off in the MAC Freedom contest is set for 3:00 p.m.