After a tough loss on Thursday to the Trinity College of Florida, the battered, beaten and bruised Lions of The King's College could certainly be expected to give a weaker effort in the third-place game today in the Bible College National Invitational being played at Word of Life Bible Institute in upstate New York. But lions are known for their courage, and a group of six players took to the floor this afternoon with victory on their minds.

They were down 37-36 at halftime after being behind by as much as 22-10 in the first half before clawing their way back into the game. The Lions held a 36-34 edge in the second half and held on for a razor-thin 72-71 win. Three King's players seemed to will their team to victory as junior Mali Binen had a double-double with 24 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal. Senior Jordan Bishop matched the double-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block while Jimmy Nguyen poured in 24 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 4 steals. Senior Tyler Bowens added 3 points, 8 rebounds, and a steal. Junior Andrew Pelaschier added a rebound and sophomore Nick Rommel grabbed 3 boards.

While field goal percentage was as tight as the final score with King's at 43% and Lancaster at 42%, the Lions shot 29.4% from the three-point arc compared to 22.7% for Lancaster. The Lions were also better at the free-throw line at 68% to 60%, and they held a 38-33 advantage in rebounds. 

The victory secured third place in the tournament and the team will bring home the first piece of basketball hardware to the trophy case since the college moved to New York City.

Next Up: The Lions will await the results of this weekend's HVIAC games which will determine whether they make their first-ever appearance in the HVIAC playoffs next weekend. Specifically, if Five Towns College defeats SUNY-ESF on Sunday, The King's College will be the 4th seed in the playoff event which starts Saturday February 26.