GLENSIDE, PA (February 4, 2023) – Two final attempts as time expired came up just short as the King's College men's basketball team's comeback efforts fell just short in the 71-69 loss at Arcadia University on Saturday afternoon in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play. The Monarchs fall to 8-13 overall and 3-10 in conference play, while the Knights improve to 11-10 and 7-6 in the MAC Freedom.

It was a strong first-half performance by the host Arcadia (11-10, 7-6 MAC Freedom) as the Knights scored the first basket of the game and carried that momentum into the locker room with a 41-26 halftime lead.

King's (8-13, 3-10 MAC Freedom) rallied in the second as they would go on to outscore the Knights, 43-30, in the final 20 minutes of play. After a back-and-forth start to the second half and with Arcadia ahead, 53-33, with 16:07 left to play, King's made a push as they went on a 15-5 run to close within nine, 55-46, off a three from senior Collin Cook with 11:00 left in regulation. The Knights would rebuild their double digit lead, holding a 60-48 edge with 8:11 on the game clock, but the Monarchs rallied again with another 15-5 rally, this time inching within two, 65-63, thanks to a putback from junior Carmine Castiello with 2:57 to play.

After a King's timeout, the Monarchs put Arcadia on the line where they converted 4-of-6 down the stretch to push their advantage to 71-66 with 52 ticks to go. A three from Castiello with 37 seconds left gave King's a chance. The Monarchs tipped the ball out of bounds, and after a time out from Arcadia sophomore Eamonn Walsh came up big with a steal. King's would go the length of the court in the final six seconds of the game, an both Chris Patton and Patrick Bennie's final attempts to send the game to overtime came up just short in as Arcadia would hang on to win, 71-69, in the MAC Freedom match up.

Patton continued his strong play with a team-high 20 points, adding eight boards and two steals, while Castiello also finished in double figures with 12 points, five rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Walsh had a well-rounded game as well with nine points, five caroms, three steals, and two assists, while Bennie came off the bench to collect five rebounds and dish out two assists.

Arcadia was saw four in double figures, led by Dom Vazquez with 19 points, while Jalen Watkins poured in a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds. Additionally, Justin Money tallied 15 points to go along with a team-high five assists.

King's shot 40.0 percent (22-55) from the floor and 41.2 percent from three, while the defense forced 15 Arcadia turnovers. While the Monarchs were slightly edge in the rebounding margin, 34-32, they came out on top in points off turnovers (16-13), second-chance points (12-11), bench points (16-4), and fast break points (12-8).

The Monarchs will look to rebound on Wednesday night as they host Lycoming College in the MAC Freedom match up at 6:00 p.m. in McGrane Gymnasium.

--MONARCHS--