WILKES-BARRE, PA – Manhattanville's attempt at a rally was cut short by King's College (Pa.) as the Valiants stumbled against the Monarchs, 70-67, in MAC Freedom play on Saturday afternoon at Scandlon Gymnasium.

A big second half was the key in King's win. The Monarchs opened up the second half with a 22-11 run to claim an eight point lead with eight minutes left in the game.

The Valiants would chip away at the deficit and eventually go on a 7-0 run to cut lead to just three with over five minutes left.

Senior guard Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy) netted a three-pointer with just four seconds left to make it a two-point game. However, King's was able to make one of two free throws hold on for the conference win.

The Monarchs shot an impressive 52% from the field in the second half. Sophomore Chris Fazzini and junior Dan Rutecki together scored 28 of the Monarch's 39 second half points.

With the loss, King's and Eastern now stand just a game out of the fourth and final playoff spot for the MAC Freedom Tournament. Manhattanville and Misericordia are currently tied for fourth place and are a game out of second place and two games out of first.

The first half was a back and forth battle as the lead changed hands on four different occasions. Manhattanville would go on a late 8-2 run to push its lead to seven but the Monarchs came clawing back and made it a three point Valiant lead going into the break.

King's (10-11, 4-6 MAC Freedom) was led by Fazzini who scored a game-high 20 points. Rutecki added 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds while senior Tom Heston netted 16 points.

For Manhattanville (12-9, 5-5 MAC Freedom), sophomore Chris Ayson (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) recorded a career-high 15 points off of the bench. Classmate Alex Tuci (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) had a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards while Maestre added 13 points, nine assists and four steals. Senior Andrew Winter (Queens, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) along with junior Charles Nardone (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) each chipped in eight points.

The Valiants will look to get back on track as they welcome FDU-Florham to Kennedy Gymnasium on Wednesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.

"We are disappointed with the result today and we'll learn from it," stated head coach Pat Scanlon. "We have to get ready for a tough opponent in FDU."