WILKES-BARRE (PA) – King's College shot 54.7 percent from the field and had the answer every time down the stretch as the host Monarchs handed Delaware Valley College its first loss in Freedom Conference action with an 80-74 decision.

The Aggies remained in sole possession of first place in the league standings despite the setback as they fell to 6-6 overall and 3-1 mark in the Freedom. Manhattanville College, which had its game with FDU-Florham postponed until Thursday, is next with a 2-1 record. Four teams follow with 2-2 marks, including King's (8-5 overall).

The Monarchs hit 29 of 53 shots from the field, including a 15-for-24 effort (62.5 percent) in the second half. They shot 11 more free throws than Delaware Valley and also held a 37-24 advantage on the boards.

Despite those numbers, the Aggies still had a chance in the final moments as James Jones hit a pair of free throws with 1:14 remaining to pull the team to within three at 72-69. Eleven seconds later, Jones was called for the foul and King's Kyle Hammonds drained both attempts to bump the lead back to five.

Delaware Valley came down the court and it was Jones again as he hit a 3-pointer for the final tallies of his season-high 31-point evening and a 74-62 contest with 55 ticks to go. The Monarchs ran time off the clock and Nick Reisig connected from beyond the arc with 29 seconds remaining. It proved to be the final dagger as the Aggies missed on their next offensive trip and Hammonds added a free throw for a six-point lead. The teams then traded layups in the final 10 seconds for the 80-74 final.

Delaware Valley led in the early going, but the Monarchs seized the advantage for good with seven minutes remaining in the first half. They build the lead to as many as eight and eventually took a 36-31 score into the break.

The Aggies pulled to within one on a pair of occasions early in the second stanza, but they could never get ahead on the scoreboard. King's pushed the lead back up to as many as eight and then made the key buckets when needed to stop the Delaware Valley rally attempt.

Jones, who had 18 of his 31 points in the first half, moved into 10th place on the Delaware Valley all-time scoring list as he upped his total to 1,162 points. He connected on 12 of 20 shots from the field (3-for-6 from 3-point land) and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line. The senior also added five assists and four rebounds while playing the full 40 minutes.

Chris Ellis added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Aggies. Nathan Bollinger poured in 11 points while Jeremy Beckett had nine points, four steals and three boards.

Kevin Conroy led the Monarchs with 24 points and also added seven rebounds. Kyle Stackhouse connected for 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Hammonds and Reisig had 11 points apiece and combined for 14 rebounds.