Box Score

WILKES-BARRE – Chris DeRojas (Dallas/Bishop O'Reilly), Kendall Hinze (Lewisberry, PA/Red Land) and Tyler Breznitsky (Freeland, PA/MMI Prep) each scored 19 points, but the Colonels couldn't slow down Kevin Conroy and the red hot Monarchs, as Wilkes University fell to rival King's College 98-94 in the regular season finale for both teams. King's season is over while the Colonels, as the No. 4 seed in the Freedom Conference tournament, will travel to Doylestown to play top seed Delaware Valley College on Wednesday.

The Colonels were down 51-33 at the half as King's shot a blistering 59.4 percent from the field, converting 19-of-32 field goals, including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Wilkes went cold towards the end of the first half, finishing 13-of-31 from the field and turning the ball over nine times at the break.

The Monarchs (15-10, 7-7) stretched their 18-point halftime lead to 28 at the 15:37 mark as King's started the second half on a 17-7 run. A single free throw by Hinze followed by a three by Breznitsky 20 seconds later would start the Colonels comeback, going on a 12-3 run over the next 3:22 to get it to 72-51.

The Colonels would continue to chip away at their deficit, getting scrappy play from Todd Eagles (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown East) and six points from DeRojas over the next 3:31 to narrow the gap to 74-60 with 8:44 left to play. A three by Breznitsky 2:25 later got the Colonels to within 13 with a little more than six minutes left, but the Monarchs held them at bay, answering each Wilkes basket with free throws on the other end.

Not giving up, the Colonels got a layup from HInze after a steal by Craig Thomas (Avenel, NJ/Cardinal McCarrick) to cut their deficit to 91-82 with 58 seconds remaining. After a pair of King's free throws by Nick Resig, Thomas would nail a three to get the score to within eight with 40 seconds remaining.

After a single free throw by the Monarchs Kyle Stackhouse, Breznitsky hit a jumper and Thomas converted a layup after a King's turnover as the Colonels got it to within five at 94-89 with 21 seconds left. Another pair of free throws by Resig would put it out of reach with 17 seconds remaining and the Monarchs would go on to win by four.

The 192 combined points was the most in the history of the rivalry, as the together the teams made 66 field goals and 44 foul shots.

Conroy finished with a game-high 33 points, going 10-of-20 from the field and 11-of-15 from the foul line. Kyle Hammonds added 16 points while Matt Fiorino chipped in with 15 points for the Monarchs.

In addition to his 19 points, Hinze added seven rebounds and finished 7-of-9 from the field in 24 minutes. Coming off the bench, Breznitsky's 19 points was a career-high, going 7-of-10 from the field, including 5-of-6 from beyond the three-point line.

DeRojas went 8-of-16 from the field and 2-of-3 from the foul line while Eagles finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, going 6-of-9 from the floor in 24 minutes, all career-highs for the junior first year player.

In addition to the Wilkes loss, DeSales University (18-7, 9-5) and Misericordia University (15-10, 8-6) also lost while Delaware Valley (15-10, 9-5) won, setting up the Colonels matchup with the Aggies. DeSales will be the No. 2 seed in the tournament, losing the tiebreaker to Delaware Valley, and will host Misericordia on Wednesday.

Game times for both games have yet to be determined.