Box Score
The Wilkes University men's basketball team played its first of two contests this season against rival King's College on Saturday, dropping the first by a score of 67-58.
Wilkes came into the game with a 9-5 (1-3) record, falling in its last contest to Eastern, 72-61. King's had a 7-8 (3-1) record coming into the game, defeating Delaware Valley on Wednesday, 78-74, and riding a four game win streak.
The game started off with cold shooting from the Colonels, and King's going on an early 8-0 run, most in part due to two quick three-pointers. King's retained that lead for the rest of the half, as Wilkes struggled from both the three-point and free throw line, but found itself down by only four with eight minutes left in the period. King's still had a four point advantage with 2:30 left, but a three by Monarch player Nick Reisig pushed the lead to seven.
The teams exchanged baskets to end out the half with King's leading, 27-20. Wilkes was led by
Tom Kresge (Brodheadsville, Pa./Pleasant Valley) who had eight points and four rebounds in the half.
Kendall Hinze (Lewisberry, PA/Red Land) had a solid performance with three points and five rebounds in his first start of the season. The Colonels shot 10 percent from three (1-10) and 20 percent from the free throw line in the period, while the Monarchs hit on 5-of-7 three-pointers.
The second half began with several trips to the foul line for the Monarchs, and four minutes into the period King's had advanced its lead to nine points. The Colonels cut the deficit to six on a spectacular lay-in by
Cliff Richardson (Bernville, PA/Tulpehocken), but the Monarchs once again had an answer in the form of a three-pointer, and with 13:50 left King's held a 39-30 lead.
King's built up a 13 point lead, but the Colonels tallied several steals that led to layups, narrowing the deficit to five points with 9:11 left to play and forcing a Monarch time-out. Soon after, Kresge hit a three while being fouled, narrowing the Monarch lead to three. King's then went on an 8-0 run, extending its lead back to 11 with six minutes left to play.
Down the stretch, every time it looked like the Colonels were about to go on a run, King's answered with a three or went to the line and made its free throws.
Chris DeRojas (Dallas/Bishop O'Reilly) brought the Monarch lead down to eight with a three-pointer with 1:00 left to play, but it was too little too late as King's rolled to a 67-58 victory.
The Colonels were again led by Kresge who finished with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. DeRojas added nine points, while
Anthony Gabriel (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) pulled down 13 rebounds for Wilkes. The Colonels shot 40 percent from the field, but only 21 percent from three.
Kevin Conroy had 22 points and eight rebounds for King's.
With the loss, Wilkes falls to 1-4 in Freedom Conference play, and has now dropped its last three games. The Colonels will have a chance to turn things around when they head to DeSales next Wednesday, Jan. 20. That game will begin at approximately 8:00 p.m.
