However, Wilkes freshman Tom Kresge and the rest of his teammates had a different idea. Kresge scored a career-high 26 points and the Colonels rallied from a nine-point deficit in the first half to stun the Monarchs, 66-58, in the Marts Center.
The victory improved Wilkes to 11-11 overall and 3-10 in the conference. It also kept the teams hopes alive for posting the squad’s 15th consecutive winning season under head coach Jerry Rickrode. Wilkes will try and accomplish that fete when they host Drew University in their season finale on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
King’s, meanwhile, slipped to 16-8 overall and 10-3 in the conference after suffering just their second loss in their last 12 games. The Monarchs hold a half-game lead over Scranton (9-3 in conference play) and can still clinch the number-one seed with a win at home over FDU-Florham on Saturday afternoon.
The Monarchs never trailed in the opening half, although Wilkes would not allow their visitors to gain any substantial breathing room. King’s, which went 7-of-13 from three-point land in the opening 20 minutes, built their biggest lead of the half, 25-16, on a three-pointer by Vince Sobocinski with 5:20 left before intermission.
Wilkes would not let the Monarchs run away and hide as Kresge and Dan Adams both converted field goal attempts to cut the deficit to 25-20 with 4:11 showing on the clock. King’s would extend the lead to eight on a Ryan Nenstiel three-pointer, but the Colonels made it 28-22 on a Matt Gould drive with 1:33 left.
John Soboleski followed for the Monarchs with a basket inside just 31 ticks before intermission to put King’s ahead 30-22. But, Jeremy Kable gave the Colonels some momentum when he sank a three-pointer with two seconds left in the period to pull Wilkes within 30-25 at halftime.
Sobocinski scored the opening field goal of the second stanza to give King’s a 32-25 lead. Once again, Wilkes would answer when Gould canned a jumper and Kresge scored on consecutive possessions to get their team within 32-31 with 17:37 left.
Wilkes would take their first lead of the game, 35-34, on a Kresge jumper at the 13:56 mark. Neither team was able to gain any separation as the two rivals traded the lead nine times and forged eight ties in the second half.
Vince Scalzo would sink one of two free throws with 3:48 remaining to put King’s on top for the final time, 53-52. Kresge followed for Wilkes by knocking down a three-pointer to give his team a 55-53 edge with 3:25 left. The Monarchs tied the game again on a Jamie Cousart field goal with 2:43 remaining that made it 55-55.
On the next Wilkes possession Steve Kline was able to put back his own miss to give the Colonels a 57-55 lead with 2:14 left. King’s would once again respond with a pair of Cousart free throws that knotted the count at 57-57 with 1:56 to play.
After a turnover on the Monarchs gave Wilkes the ball back with 1:24 to play, Kable put the Colonels ahead for good with a three-pointer from the right wing at the 1:07 mark that made it 60-57.
Soboleski was fouled on the next trip down the floor for King’s, but was able to hit just the second of his two free throws to make it 60-58 with 53 ticks left. Wilkes worked the ball patiently on their next possession and Kline was able to wiggle free for a lay-up with 28 seconds left to give his tam a 62-58 edge.
Kofi Dwebeng was unable to hit his jumper for King’s and Kresge was fouled after snagging the rebound with 20 seconds left. He would step to the line and hit both charity tosses to push the lead to 64-58. After another Monarch miss with just 12 seconds remaining, Anthony Gabriel was fouled and also converted both free throws to close out the scoring and give Wilkes the 66-58 victory.
Kresge hit 9-of-12 field goal attempts, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, and all five of his free throws on his way to his 26-point effort. Adams contributed nine points and nine rebounds for the Colonels, who avenged a 76-55 loss to King’s on January 10.
Ryan Nenstiel was the top gun for King’s with 11 points, eight of which came in the first half. The Monarchs got eight points apiece from Sobocinski, Cousart, Scalzo and Soboleski.