WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – King's (Pa.) College outscored Manhattanville College by 13 points in the second half as the Monarchs defeated the Valiants by a 76-62 score in MAC Freedom play on Saturday afternoon at McGrane Gymnasium.
 
Junior Dom Arena (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) matched his career high with 19 points and also chipped in a game-high eight assists and five rebounds to lead Manhattanville (7-12, 3-5 MAC Freedom). Classmate Alex Tuci (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) posted the game's only double-double, his eighth of the season, with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds and fellow junior Chris Ayson (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) also reached double figures with 10 points as well.
 
Four players scored in double figures for King's (5-14, 1-7 MAC Freedom), led by a game-high 21 points off the bench from Jake Barber and 20 points from Connor Callejas. Dan Rutecki added 12 points and nine rebounds as well for the Monarchs.
 
Manhattanville led for almost the entirety of the first half, as the Valiants forced 11 turnovers and held an 18-6 scoring edge in the paint. The visitors led by one (12-11) with 12:51 to go in the first half before going on a 11-2 run over the next 3:25 to take a 23-13 lead, with Arena scoring the first four points and Ayson adding five during the stretch.
 
The visitors still led by six with 3:25 to go in the half before King's closed on a 7-0 run to take a 33-32 lead into intermission. Ayson led the Valiants with 10 points at the half, while Callejas and Barber combined for 23 at the break for the home team.
 
The Valiants battled back to regain the lead early in the second half, and still held a 45-44 lead after an old-fashioned three-point play from freshman JoJo Cobbs (Elmsford, N.Y./Briarcliff) with 11:51 remaining. However, the Monarchs responded with a 15-0 run, capped by a three from Barber that put the Monarchs up 59-45 with 7:48 left.
 
Manhattanville responded in kind with 10 straight points to get back within four after a layup from junior Brian Haggerty (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) made it a 59-55 game with 4:35 to go, and the Valiants got within three at 60-57 following a free throw by senior Charles Nardone (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) with 3:08 on the clock. But the Valiants did not hit a field goal for the next three minutes, as King's outscored Manhattanville 16-5 down the stretch to earn the win.
 
The Valiants finished the game shooting 41.5 percent (22 of 53) from the field, but hit only 7-of-28 attempts (25.0 percent) from beyond the arc. The Monarchs finished the afternoon at 46.9 percent (23 of 49) from the field, but hit on a sizzling 58.3 percent (14 of 24) of its shots from long range.
 
Manhattanville will look to rebound on Wednesday, when the Valiants host DeSales University in a MAC Freedom matchup starting at 8 p.m.