WILKES-BARRE (PA) – Delaware Valley University rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit and forced overtime with a buzzer beater, but host King's College outlasted the Aggies, 74-67, in a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom game.

It was a big setback for DelVal, which fell to 17-7 overall and 8-5 in the MAC Freedom. The team's chances for first place and home court throughout the upcoming conference tournament went astray as DeSales University (10-3) is now assured of the top seed. The Aggies have now fallen into a tie for second place with Misericordia University (8-5) and the two will meet in next Wednesday's semifinal contest.

However, the Cougars currently hold the tiebreaker thanks to a sweep of the first-place Bulldogs while DelVal split with DeSales. In order for the Aggies to avoid a trip to Dallas and, instead host Misericordia for that semifinal match-up, they need to defeat last-place FDU-Florham at home this Saturday and have Misericordia lose at a Manhattanville College team that still has a chance for the fourth and final tournament berth.

King's (12-12, 6-7 MAC Freedom) sat in a zone all evening, forcing the Aggies to shoot from long range. In fact, they attempted more 3-pointers (49) than two-point shots (34). However, DelVal managed to hit just eight treys, shooting at a 16.3 percent clip. In contrast, the Monarchs were just 4-for-9 from 3-point land. They did get to the foul line 38 times and made 28 of them compared to an 11-for-12 effort from the line by the Aggies.

Despite all of that and an 18-point deficit with 12:05 remaining, DelVal tied the game at 59-59 with 29 seconds left in regulation when Chris Moran drained a 3-pointer from the left corner. After a timeout, King's got the ball inside to Dan Rutecki, who scored with five seconds to go. The Aggies quickly inbounded the ball to Barry Brockington who drove into the lane and dished to guard Tyliek Kimbrough who hit a tough floater in the paint just before the buzzer sounded to force overtime.

In the extra session, the Monarchs scored first and never relinquished the lead. DelVal pulled to within one on two separate occasions, including when Andre' Butler hit a layup with 1:52 to go that made it 66-65. Tom Heston hit one free throw for King's and the Aggies had a chance to take the lead, but a 3-point shot was off the mark. Heston scored on a layup at the other end and John Fazzini added a free throw shortly after for a five-point lead with 40 seconds to go.

Butler sank a pair of free throws following an offensive rebound. Heston was fouled and missed both free throws, but he managed to get his own rebound and Rutecki sealed the game with a pair of foul shots with 30 seconds left.

King's scored 10 of the first 12 points of the game and eventually took a 26-21 lead into halftime. Kimbrough scored on a layup just nine seconds into the second half, but King's countered with 14 straight points, including five each by Chris Fazzini and Rutecki, for its largest lead of the game at 40-23. The Monarchs then moved the advantage to as many as 18, 43-25, with 12:06 left on the clock.

King's had a 15-point advantage minutes later when Chris Moran helped account for all the points in a 9-0 run. He had back-to-back baskets and then stole a pass that eventually led to a 3-pointer from Kimbrough. After a defensive stop at the other end, Moran had a putback to make it a six-point contest, 47-41, with 6:12 left.

The Monarchs pushed the lead back up to nine and were still up seven, 58-51 with 2:13 remaining. Matthew Gerner hit a bomb and Butler followed with a pair of free throws. John Fazzini managed just one of two free throws for King's before Moran hit the game-tying 3-pointer. The teams exchanged baskets before overtime, but it was the Monarchs who won the extra session and the game.

Moran finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals in 44 minutes of action. Butler netted 14 points to go along with nine rebounds while Kimbrough had 13 points and five assists.

Rutecki (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Heston (15 points, 14 rebounds) each had double-doubles for King's. Chris Fazzini and Connor Hughes added 11 points apiece in the win.