WILKES-BARRE, Pa.- The host King's College Monarchs used a 16-1 run to close out the first half, and held off several second-half comeback attempts to earn a 74-66 win. Despite being saddled with foul trouble for much of the second half, Alex Nelson finished with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds, but King's made 13-17 free throws and 56% of field goals in the second half to secure the win.

The Eagles missed all 11 of their first half 3-point attempts, but they built an 18-13 edge with four minutes to play on the strength of tough interior defense and inside baskets. Nelson converted a steal for a breakaway lay-in with just over four minutes on the clock to give Eastern its biggest edge of afternoon.

The Monarchs, who had also been struggling from deep, made a pair of three pointers in the final 71 seconds to cap the decisive run of the contest. Kyle Hammonds made a steal and two free throws with three seconds to play for the 29-19 edge. Keyton Winder had 14 of his team-best 20 before the intermission to lead King's into the locker room.

Don Kaiser scored the first five points of the the second half to cut the deficit to five, but King's bumped the lead back to nine. Nelson then scored five in a row, but the hosts again bumped their edge back up to 10. 

The second half turned into a re-creation of the myth of Sisyphus. Eastern would make great progress to cut the deficit to three or four, and then the rock would roll back down the hill and the visitors would have to start the rally all over.

The frustration increased for the Eagles (9-5, 2-2 Freedom), when Nelson picked up his fourth foul with over 11 minutes to play. Nelson returned to the game with just under four minutes to play. The senior forward scored eight points late, including the team's only two made 3-pointers of the day, but King's (8-7, 3-1 Freedom) held on for the win.

Kaiser was the only other Eastern player to reach double figures. He had 13 points in 14 minutes. Kyle Stackhouse recorded 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds to compliment Winder's effort. Hammonds and Tim O'Shea each had 12.

The Eagles will need to regroup for a tough home test on Wednesday against an FDU-Florham side that has historically given them problems. The second game of the doubleheader with the women is slated to start at 8 pm. As part of Eastern Athletics' Season of Impact, any person bringing a book for donation to a grade school library will receive $1 per book of the price of admission.

Box Score