With the win, King's improved to 23-5 and advances to the NCAA "Sweet 16" for the first time in school history. Albright closed out its season with a 21-7 mark.
Trailing 43-42, the Monarchs took a 46-43 on back-to-back baskets from Marty O'Hora with 4:39 remaining. Greg Conroy then buried a three-pointer for Albright to knot the score at 46-46 with 3:28 left.
Horgan was fouled and converted both charity tosses to put King's on top 48-46 with 3:21 on the clock. After an Albright miss, O'Hora rebounded and was fouled and made one-of-two foul shots to extend the lead to 49-46 with 3:11 left. Trevor Deeter would then score to bring Albright to within 49-48 with 3:01 remaining.
King's would then stretch the lead to 51-48 on a short jumper by Horgan with 2:05 left, but Matt Kieselowsky brought the Lions to within 51-50 with a bucket. On King's next possession with the shot clock running down, senior guard Landon Gabriel buried a huge three-pointer from the top of the key to give the Monarchs a 54-50 lead with 1:28 on the clock. But the Lions fought back when Andy Winebrenner drilled a three-pointer of his own to draw the Lions to within 54-53 with 1:18 left.
After a King's miss, Shane Harvey was fouled and went to the line for a one-and-one. But the Albright sophomore missed the front end and the Monarchs would secure the rebound with 0:52 left.
From there Cousart was fouled with 0:32 on the clock and made both free throws to give King's a 56-53 lead. After a costly Albright turnover, Vince Scalzo's three-pointer was off the mark for but Cousart came up with a critical offensive rebound and was fouled on the play. The Monarch rookie made one-of-two shots to give King's a 57-53 advantage with 0:10 remaining.
Deeter would score an uncontested lay-up with 0:05 left to close the gap to 57-55. King's would then throw a three-quarter court pass to a wide-open O'Hora who inexplicably passed up on a wide open lay-up and attempted to run out the clock. O'Hora would turn the ball over to Andy Winebrenner who launched a shot just beyond half court as the clock expired which narrowly bounced off the rim.
Horgan paced King's with 23 points, six rebounds, and four steals while O'Hora followed with 11 points and seven boards. Cousart chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds while Gabriel contributed eight points and three assists.
Deeter led Albright with 16 points and nine boards while Kieselowsky followed with nine points. Shane Harvey netted seven points while Winebrenner tallied six. Lee Walter hauled down a game-high 10 boards for the Lions.
The Monarchs, who are making their first NCAA appearance since 1992, reached the "Sweet 16" for the first time in school history under the guidance of fourth-year mentor J.P. Andrejko.
King's will next compete in the sectional finals slated for Friday and Saturday at a site and time to be determined. The Monarchs will face Ramapo College, a 105=80 winner over New York Tech, in the "Sweet 16" on Friday.