Trailing by two with six seconds left in the game, Rob Pecorelli inbounded the ball for Wilkes — trying to tie the game at the very least. Mark Mullins grabbed the ball at the top of the key and drove to the paint. He went up for the game-tying-layup but lost the ball for just his second turnover of the night.

The Monarchs’ Jake Pawliczak snatched up the loose ball and iced the game with a free throw to give King’s a 75-72 victory on Wednesday. 

King’s jumped out to a sizable first-half lead thanks to their excellent shooting, totaling 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range. Guard Kevin Hunter scored a half-high 14 points, going 4-7 from beyond the arc.

Suffering a 44-35 deficit in the first half, the Colonels spent most of the second half playing catch up to get back into the game. 

It was a different story for Wilkes in the second half, outscoring the Monarchs 37-31 with a solid team effort. Derek Heiserman led the way, putting up 14 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.

“My teammates did a very good job at driving the lane and bringing over an extra defender,” Heiserman said. “It left me open under the basket for easy dump offs.”

In addition to Heiserman, Mullins contributed 10 points, six assists and five rebounds, Pecorelli notched 12 points and both Sean Coller and Donovan Breeding added nine.

Andrew Hudak was a force on the floor for the Monarchs. He led the way with 27 points and nine rebounds. Not to mention that he was perfect from the field, shooting an astonishing 12-12. Pawliczak also put together a big night with 15 points and 11 rebounds to secure his double-double.  

“I think we took some bad angles in the post, and we walked them into some layups,” said Wilkes head coach Izzi Metz. “We knew coming into the game that the strength of the team was low post play.”

It is still early in the season for Wilkes, leaving the team with high hopes for the remainder of the year.

“As disappointing as this is, we have to keep grinding away in practice. I have to do a better job getting them prepared to play,” Metz said. “That’s the fun part of conference play. There’s parity. We’ve been on the other end of these close games the last few years and won them.”

The Colonels were 1-4 in conference play prior to their 77-70 loss against FDU-Florham on Saturday, which further dropped their record to 1-5. 

“I think we are doing things through the game,” Pecorelli said. “It will come together, we just need to tighten up a few things.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

King’s 75, Wilkes 53 

Wilkes hung around with the Monarchs but couldn’t muster up enough to dethrone the top team in the MAC Freedom.

The Colonels demonstrated their competitiveness in the first half, trailing 33-26 after two quarters. In part, this was due to Wilkes’ ability to shoot the ball, going 50 percent from the field and behind the arc to keep them in the contest. 

“We played 80 percent of the game to their level, and they’re a top team in the league right now,” said Wilkes head coach Tara Macciocco. “We need a floor general for when we aren’t playing our best. There are some people that are stepping up and getting everyone on the same page, but there are so many young players on this team and we are working on it.”

For King’s, forward Rebecca Prociak stepped up with 15 points and 10 rebounds to record a double-double while Samantha Rajza had a game-high 18 points.

The Colonels were led by freshman Macy Berryman’s 16-point game, as she made four three-pointers. 

“My teammates were looking to get me the ball,” Berryman said. “I was just trying to return the favor.”

Maddie Kelley also contributed eight points and nine rebounds.

“We were able to execute and keep the offense flowing at points,” Berryman said. “We just need to put a whole game