The Colonels, who split their previous two games with the Monarchs this season, improve to 14-9 overall and will take on either top-seeded Scranton or fourth-seeded Lycoming in the title game on Saturday at a site and time to be determined. King’s, the defending conference champions, close their season with a 17-9 mark.
King’s, which did not lead since early in the first half when they had a 5-4 advantage, rallied from a 13-point deficit early in the second half to force a 55-55 tie on a three-pointer by Vince Scalzo with 2:53 left in the game. Kable would then answer just 13 seconds later with a three of his own that gave Wilkes the lead for good 60-57. Kofi Dwebeng dropped a jumper at the 2:18 mark to pull King’s within 60-59, but three straight points by Evan Walters extended the Colonels edge to 61-59 with 1:25 left.
The Monarchs would get a field goal inside from John Soboleski with 1:01 showing on the clock to make it 63-61. But, Wilkes would put the game away by scoring the next seven points. Shovlin scored on a drive and Matt Gould hit a pair of charity tosses to push the lead to 65-59 with 31 seconds left. After Gould hit one more free throw with 20 seconds remaining, Shovlin came up with a steal and layup with eight ticks left that made it 68-59.
Wilkes used a 17-4 run in the first half to go on top 21-9. The Colonels trailed 5-4 before Michael Constantine hit a three-pointer and Shovlin scored on a drive to put Wilkes ahead, 9-5. Scalzo scored inside for the Monarchs to trim the deficit to 9-7. But, another three-pointer from Constantine and a pair of John Sclafani free throws extended the lead to 14-7 with 12:20 left in the half.
Soboleski would convert a field goal attempt inside for King’s to pull the Monarchs within 14-9. Wilkes then rattled off the final seven points of their spurt to take a double figure lead. Shovlin cashed in a field goal and Constantine scored on a drive to push the lead to 18-9. Shovlin then capped the outburst with a three-pointer that made it 21-9 with 8:08 showing on the clock.
King’s would still trail 25-15 later in the period before they scored seven straight tallies to cut the lead to three. Soboleski hit a free throw and then scored off an offensive rebound to make it 25-18. Soboleski would add another field goal and Scalzo cashed in a basket underneath as the Monarchs trimmed the Wilkes lead to 25-22 with 3:20 remaining before intermission.
However, Wilkes would close the stanza on a 10-2 run to take a double digit lead into halftime. Kable canned a trey and Shvolin scored on a drive as the Colonels assumed a 33-25 advantage. After a pair of Soboleski free throws for the Monarchs, Shovlin hit a three-pointer and fed Dan Adams for a layup with just one second left in the half as Wilkes marched into the locker room with a 38-27 lead.
Walters would open the second half with a bucket for Wilkes to give his team a 40-27 lead. The Monarchs would then respond by rattling off seven straight tallies. Scalzo knocked down a three-pointer and then scored on a drive before Soboleski converted from in close to pare the Colonels lead down to 40-34.
King’s would continue to peck away at the lead and trailed by only one, 49-48 following a Scalzo three-pointer with 7:24 left. Wilkes would respond with a 6-2 run to take a 55-50 lead on a pair of Shovlin free throws with 4:11 remaining. After Soboleski scored inside for the Monarchs at the 3:46 mark, Scalzo canned his three-pointer to tie the game at 55-55 and set the stage for the Colonels final run.
Shovlin had seven assists, five rebounds and three steals to go along with his 19 tallies. Kable scored his 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, while also dishing out three assists. Constantine also had three assists and popped in 11 points. Walters had a game-high 15 rebounds to go along with five points as well for Wilkes.
Soboleski had game-high honors with 25 points for King’s. He also snagged eight boards. Scalzo ended the night with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Jamie Cousart chipped in with 10 points and six assists.