While many sports fans were glued to their television sets to watch coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament, it was March Madness in Arco Arena on Friday as well. The Sacramento Kings battled the Milwaukee Bucks in exciting fashion, but, despite great effort by the Kings, they lost 114-108 in double overtime.

The Kings and Bucks exchanged leads throughout the game, but late in the fourth quarter the score was 95-95. The atmosphere was electric during the final seconds as with fans chanting “DEFENSE, DEFENSE!!” Other fans yelled at players to make a 3-pointer for the win.

Although the Kings fell short of a victory, loyal fans were proud of their efforts.

“I’m impressed with their hustle,” said web designer Aryna Tyrreoll. “They are a lot more exciting to watch and they seem to care more about winning.”

The atmosphere of the game did not match the adrenaline from the glory days when Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic and Mike Bibby were on the Kings roster. But fans at the game exhibited the typical of a playoff game

Tyrreoll, 22, is a season ticket holder. She said that despite the low turnout for lower-profile contests such as the Bucks game, she's happy to be there.

“The atmosphere is more lively when an exciting team like the Lakers come to play, but I still come no matter what,” Tyrreoll said. “The Kings will improve and I think more people will start coming to watch them when they improve.”

Joel Cardenas, a digital media major at Sacramento State, enjoyed the game as well, but was a little more critical of Kings fans’ decreased support over the years.

“I still come to the games because I get free tickets and I am a fan of basketball in general, but I don’t understand how some people would pay top dollar for a bad product since the Kings don’t win like they used to,”Cardenas he said. “It’s sad to see how small the crowd got.”

Cardenas was optimistic that things can change.

“If the Kings continue to play like they are tonight, then more people would come and the energy will be more intense like it was years ago.”

Some fans had a different take on both the atmosphere of the game and the Kings. Ei Woodfy, 31, who plays for the Canberra Gunners of the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL), was more critical but also optimistic on how the Kings are playing.

“They’re struggling,” Woodfy said with a laugh. “They’ll get better, though. They’re a young team and they have a lot of time to mature.”

When asked about the fan turnout, he said he enjoyed the support they were giving the Kings.

“The atmosphere is great, the crowd is into it, I’m definitely feeling it,” Woodfy said.

This game was hyped up among Kings fans and basketball fans in general because of the match-up between Kings guard Tyreke Evans and Bucks guard Brandon Jennings, both of whom are strong candidates for NBA Rookie of the Year.

In the end, Jennings had the better performance of the two. He scored a game-high 35 points, made a career-high eight 3-pointers, grabbed five rebounds and had eight assists. Evans scored 15 points, grabbed four rebounds and had four assists.

Evans’ performance was marred by an injury he sustained with 27.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter. He suffered a concussion along with lacerated gums and a chipped tooth from an inadvertent elbow shot from Bucks guard Erson Ilraysova. It is uncertain when Evans will return.

Despite the loss, the fans stood by their Kings every second of the game. and They were on their feet during those heart-stopping moments when Kings guard Beno Udrih drove to the basket with just seconds left on the clock. If Evans recovers from his injuries and does in fact become rookie of the year, then just maybe the Kings will bring back the glory days to Sacramento.