The King's Men's Basketball team was looking to ride the momentum of their thrilling HVIAC win last weekend at SUNY-ESF into their next game at the Culinary Institute of America. The team would have to wait a day though as the game was postponed from Saturday to Sunday because of a big northeast snowstorm.

The Lions came out a little slow in the first half against the Steels and found themselves down 6-4 after four minutes of play. But they soon found their legs and when Morten Hansen dished two assists for consecutive three-pointers by Jimmy Nguyen and Cade Nicholson, they led 10-6 and wouldn't trail again the rest of the game. Andrew Pelaschier was strong on the defensive boards and Tyler Bowens made a layup and subsequent free throw to build the lead to 16-9. King's went ahead 21-13 after a Nick Rommel steal and a Nguyen layup, but Culinary tied the score at 21-21 after Joseph Shin made a layup and a three-pointer moments later. But King's took a 34-28 lead into the locker room at halftime as Tyler Bowens and Rommel hit some shots down the stretch, while Morten Hansen and Nicholson continued their strong rebounding work.

Neither team scored in the first four minutes of the second half, but then the Lions turned it on in what would be a dominant 41-6 performance in the second half. Hansen made a layup followed by a Jordan Bishop jump shot. Nicholson made a three for a 42-30 King's lead at 12:51. Nguyen fed Bishop for another layup and King's went ahead 50-30. Pelaschier made a layup for a 60-30 King's lead with 7:04 to go in the game. As the clock ticked down Nguyen, Bishop and Nicholson made three consecutive layups to extend the lead to 73-32 before Pelaschier knocked down a jumper for the final 75-34 score.

While the Lions dominated offensively, the team had a strong defensive game as well. King's had a 7-2 advantage in blocked shots and a 21-12 edge in steals while forcing Culinary into 30 turnovers.

Nguyen was the high scorer for King's with 20 points, he added 9 steals, 8 assists, and 3 rebounds. Bishop was good for 18 points, 6 rebounds, a steal, and a block. Nicholson added 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks. Hansen had a double-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and 2 blocks. King's once again showed their depth with Rommel contributing 3 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a block, while Pelaschier had 4 points, 10 rebounds, a steal, and a block.

King's improved their overall record to 5-5 and 2-1 in the HVIAC.

NEXT UP: Wednesday February 2 at Vaughn College