11/18/2006 - (Williamantic, CT) - A year ago, the Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball season was defined by one man's pursuit of the career scoring record for the Dolphins. And while that headline came and went a long time ago, it seems that scoring records are going to be a common theme for one Mount Saint Vincent hoopster, particularly if he continues on the torrid pace he set for himself during his Mount Saint Vincent debut on Friday night. Freshman Marquise King (Albany, NY/Albany HS) scored a tournament record-tying 36 points, 29 of which came during the second half of play, as Mount Saint Vincent battled back from a 23-point second half deficit to lose to powerhouse Eastern Connecticut State, 75-69 during the first round of the Eastern Tip-off Tournament. With the loss, Mount Saint Vincent is now 0-1 and will face Mitchell College - who lost 99-81 to Elms in opening round action - in the consolation game on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

In front of nearly 1,000 fans at the 26th annual Eastern Tip-off, both teams were incredibly sloppy during the early going as the first 3:11 of play saw neither team score a single point. However, once the scoring began, Eastern Connecticut gained the edge and led by as many as 15 during the first half of play. Mount Saint Vincent battled back and trailed 33-23 after 20 minutes.

The second half was all Eastern Connecticut during the early going as the Warrior outscored the Mount 27-14 during the first 10 minutes to increase the lead to 62-39 with just under 10 minutes remaining. From there, however, King took over, scoring 23 points during the final 9:11 to help make it a game. Overall, King hit 11 of his 22 shots during an incredible performance. The 36 total points marked the seventh highest single game scoring total in Mount Saint Vincent as well as one of the finest performances by a rookie in the history of the program. And King's efforts sparked an unbelievable Mount Saint Vincent comeback. Two King free throws with 39 seconds remaining made it 72-68, but the Dolphins would get no closer, and Eastern Connecticut made three of their four free throws down the stretch to put the game out of reach.

Overall, Mount Saint Vincent outrebounded ECSU 34-29, but it was a tough defensive night for the Mount as Eastern shot 51% from the floor, including 58% during the second half of play.

For Mount Saint Vincent, other than King's heroics, junior Derek Charlton (Yonkers, NY/St. Raymond's) scored nine points and added seven rebounds, while sophomore Charlie Britz (Thornwood, NY/Byram Hills HS) added eight points on 4 for 4 shooting.