WILKES-BARRE, PA (February 5, 2025) – With 14 seconds left on the clock, the Monarchs drew up an inbound play that put the ball in the hands of Chris Patton who ball faked, squared up, and shot the game-winning three with four seconds to go as the King's College men's basketball team took down DeSales University, 70-69, on Wednesday night in McGrane Gymnasium. With the win in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) contest, the Monarchs improve to 9-9 overall and 4-5 in the standings, while the Bulldogs drop to 10-10 with a 4-5 conference mark. The win also snaps an 18-game skid in the match up with DeSales.
There were three ties and three lead changes over the first 5:51 of action before DeSales (10-10, 4-5 MAC Freedom) jumped back ahead on a six-point spurt. The Bulldogs lead swelled to as many as 12, 27-15, with 9:21 to go in the first, but back-to-back buckets from Ben Rodner-Tims sparked a 15-1 run that put King's (9-9, 4-5 MAC Freedom) ahead, 30-28, with 4:47 left in the half. The score was knotted two more times in the final minutes, but a layup from Eamonn Walsh and a layup from Garrett Burys gave the Monarchs the 37-35 edge heading into the break.
The Monarchs were firing on all cylinders early in the second, scoring the first 11 points of the half as part of an 18-6 run as King's held a 56-41 advantage with 13:01 remaining. DeSales matched that effort as they put up 13 unanswered points to close within a score, 56-54, with 8:11 left. After another bucket from Walsh, the pace of play slowed as neither team scored in the next two minutes of action.
It was a back-and-forth affair in the next stretch as DeSales used a 6-0 run over 2:10 of play to take a 66-64 lead with 1:29 to play. Jawane Buckner followed his missed three-point attempt to get the rebound and fed Burys for a two-handed dunk that drew the foul. Burys hit his free throw attempt to put King's ahead, 67-66, with 54 ticks to go.
Out of the Bulldog timeout, Devin Atkinson drove to the right and scored with 41 seconds remaining. The Monarchs missed on the other end and were forced to foul, but Caleb Gibbs missed the first before hitting the second to make it a two-point game, 69-67, with 18 seconds on the clock.
Both teams called a timeout as JP Andrejko drew up the game-winning play that saw Patton ball fake to shake his defender and drain the three from the opposite wing. DeSales used their final timeout, but a Bulldog miscue turned the ball over back into the hands of the Monarchs as they held on to defeat DeSales, 70-69, in McGrane Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
Patton totaled 23 points to go along with four assists, four steals, and three rebounds, while Buckner recorded 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three, with eight assists, two steals, and two boards. Burys rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11, adding four blocks and four caroms, while Sean Forrest came off the bench to add seven points.
Caleb Gibbs led four in double figures for DeSales with a double-double 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Devin Atkinson added 12 points, seven boards, four assists, and two steals.
King's shot 46% from the floor in the win and 33.3% from beyond the arc, dishing out 20 helpers on their 29 field goals. They took care of the rock, committing just seven turnovers while the defense forced 19 Bulldog miscues that led to a 25-7 edge in points off turnovers and limited their foes to 27.3% from three. The Monarchs also had the edge in fast break points, 9-2, in the contest.
The Monarchs will look to extend their win streak on Saturday afternoon as they travel to Arcadia University for another important MAC Freedom match up. Tip off is set for 3:00 p.m. in Glenside, Pa.
--MONARCHS--