MADISON, NJ (January 8, 2025) – Down by two mid-way through the second half, the King's College men's basketball team went on a tear to pull away on their way to a 74-57 win at FDU-Florham in their Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) opener on Wednesday. With the victory, the Monarchs open conference play 1-0 and improve to 6-4 overall, while the Devils fall to 6-6 and 0-1 in the standings.
The conference opener started slow with King's (6-4, 1-0 MAC Freedom) ahead, 18-17, with 8:15 to go in the half. A three by FDU-Florham (6-6, 0-1 MAC Freedom) put the Devils ahead, 20-18, with 7:06 remaining before six points from Chris Patton tied the game at 24 a piece with 4:30 left in the first. Sean Forrest converted a layup, and Ray Gooley scored a bucket and connected for a pair from the free throw line to put the Monarchs ahead, 30-24, with 2:39 on the clock, but the Devils had the final say in the half with a layup with 1:23 to play as the Monarchs held on to a 30-26 halftime lead.
FDU-Florham opened the second half on a 7-0 rally, regaining the lead, 33-30, with 17:14 left. It was a back-and-forth stretch over the next 4:05 of play with the Monarchs trailing, 42-40. Devin Kimmick's three with 13:00 remaining sparked an 18-0 King's run until a layup from Christopher Smith got the Devils back on the board with 7:23 remaining with the Monarchs ahead, 58-42. The hosts made it a single-digit game again on a three from Mac Creek with 2:17 to go after chipping away at the deficit before Jake Karnish sunk a pair of free throws as part of nine unanswered points by King's to ice the win and defeat FDU-Florham, 74-57, on the road on Wednesday night.
Patton led the scoring with 24 points on 9-for-15 shooting, including 4-for-6 from three, with eight rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Garrett Burys added 13 points and a block, while Karnish put up 12 points and six boards. Eamonn Walsh grabbed seven rebounds to go with three assists and a steal, and Kimmick came off the bench to total nine points and two assist. Additionally, Sean Forrest collected six rebounds, and Jawane Buckner snagged four steals.
Mac Creek had a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds with three assists to pace the Devils, while Christopher Smith added 14 points, seven boards, and two steals.
The Monarchs had a strong shooting night, connecting on 43.5% from the floor, while the defense limited the Devils to 21.4% from beyond the arc and forced 18 turnovers. King's won the battle on the boards, 39-37, over FDU-Florham, along with an 18-12 edge in points off turnovers and 20-13 advantage in bench points.
King's will look to maintain this momentum on Saturday afternoon as they host Arcadia University. Tip off in the MAC Freedom match up is set for 1:00 p.m. in McGrane Gymnasium.
--MONARCHS--