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The battle for the MAC Freedom women&rsquo;s basketball crown is set to be an interesting one. Misericordia made sure of it.
				The Cougars took control late in the first quarter of Wednesday night&rsquo;s marquee matchup against King&rsquo;s and raced to a 76-62 victory at the Anderson Center.
				Misericordia became the first MAC Freedom team to beat the Monarchs this season, creating a three-way tie for first place at the halfway point of the league schedule. Misericordia, King&rsquo;s and DeSales are all 6-1 and went 1-1 against each other, with another round of matchups coming in February.
				King&rsquo;s had entered the night alone in first place after the Cougars dropped their first conference game on Saturday against DeSales. The Monarchs edged the Bulldogs earlier this month.
				On Wednesday, Misericordia exploded for 48 points in the first half and the defense held the league&rsquo;s highest scoring offense to 14 points below its season average.
				Erica Haefele knocked down 4-of-6 threes for a game-high 18 points while Jordan Barth had 13 points and 12 rebounds. Tessa Zamolyi finished with 15 points and seven boards.
				King&rsquo;s entered with the top three scorers in the MAC Freedom in Rebecca Prociak (19.1 ppg), Mackenzie Yori (17.4) and Samantha Rajza (17.1). They had nine, two and 16, respectively, on Wednesday. The Cougars held leading rebounder Prociak to just two boards and Yori&rsquo;s only points came from the foul line.
				Wilkes 66, Delaware Valley 57
				The Colonels erased a halftime deficit with a strong third quarter to pick up their first MAC Freedom road win of the season.
				Maddie Kelley shined for Wilkes, finishing with 25 points and nine rebounds while adding two assists, two steals and two blocks as the Colonels outscored the Aggies 24-11 in the third. Macy Berryman added 10 points.
				MEN&rsquo;S BASKETBALL
				Misericordia 73, King&rsquo;s 62
				In strong need of a spark, Misericordia fully caught fire to open Wednesday night&rsquo;s win over King&rsquo;s.
				The Cougars scorched the Monarchs with a 65.4% shooting performance in the first half (17-for-26), including 7-for-14 from behind the arc.
				Misericordia led 48-28 at halftime before keeping the Monarchs at arm&rsquo;s length down the stretch to pick up a key win in MAC Freedom play to close out the first half of the league schedule.
				The Cougars snapped a three-game losing skid and ended the Monarchs&rsquo; three-game win streak to pull into a three-way tie for the conference&rsquo;s fourth and final playoff berth at the midway point.
				King&rsquo;s, Misericordia and FDU-Florham are all at 3-4 in league play.
				On Wednesday, it was Noah Rivera who carried the load for the Cougars, turning in 22 points and 14 rebounds to go with three blocks. Nate Kreitzer added 17 points and Tony Harding just missed a double-double himself with nine points and 10 boards.
				Jake Pawliczak topped four King&rsquo;s players in double figures with 16 points, followed by Andrew Hudak (15), Tyler Faux (12) and Josh Bailey (12).
				King&rsquo;s managed to cut a 20-point deficit down to six on a Bailey 3-pointer with 4:14 left and again on a Patrick Galvin three with 2:16 left. But the Monarchs would get no closer.
				Wilkes 76, Delaware Valley 65
				Senior guard Rob Pecorelli put an emphatic end to the Colonels&rsquo; losing skid, going off for 32 points and nine rebounds on the road. Pecorelli went 9-for-20 from the floor (6-for-14 from deep) and a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line.
				Drake Marshall scored 15 and added six assists for Wilkes, which closed the first half of the MAC Freedom schedule at 2-5, edging ahead of the last-place Aggies. Both teams entered the night on four-game slides.

Misericordia basketball teams score key conference victories against King’s