Madison, N.J. (January 24) – Despite the FDU-Florham (3-15, 0-7 MAC Freedom) men's basketball team leading Arcadia (12-6, 5-2 MAC Freedom) for a good portion of the first half, a strong second half push helped Arcadia come out on top in the MAC Freedom matchup, 75-62 on Wednesday night.
The Devils offense was led by Brian Nichols (Roxbury, N.J.)
who had 13 points followed by
Jaqwan Washington (Bryan, Texas)
with 12.
Christopher Smith (Florham Park, N.J.)
led the Devils in rebounds totaling nine on the night. The Knights saw three players reach double-digit points. They were led by Jalen Watkins who notched 20.
Arcadia started the game off with a free throw from Joshua Okocha but the Devils answered back with a good Layup from
Michal Dabas (Middletown, N.J)
to make the score 2-1. After that the FDU went on a 14-9 run to take the lead 16-10 after a good three pointer from Dabas at the 8:25 minute mark. That run can also be credited to Smith, Washington,
Carson Woods (Phoenix, Ariz.)
and James Zingaro (Stratford, N.J.).
Both teams continuously exchanged buckets until Arcadia tied the game 20-20 at the 3:27 mark. The basket that tied the game sent the Knights on an unanswered seven point run that saw the Devils going into halftime down 27-20.
The Devils came out hot as they went on a 15-10 run that ended at the 15:02 mark. This run allowed for FDU to get a close trail with a score of 37-35. The run included baskets from Nichols, Washington, Smith, and Dabas. That close trail would only happen for a minute as the Knights then went on an 8-3 run to make the score 45-38. After a pair of made free throws from Arcadia's Nas Johnson, the Knights followed that with another 10-3 run. This run extended their lead over the Devils 60-43 with 5:47 remaining in the game. Even though Fairleigh Dickinson attempted to comeback multiple times, they ultimately lost to Arcadia, 75-62.
As a team, FDU-Florham shot 40.4 percent (23 of 57) from the floor, 26.1 percent (6 of 23) from the three-point range, and 62.5 percent (10 of 16) from the free-throw line. The Devils tallied 34 points in the paint, 18 points off the bench, and 13 fast break points.
Arcadia shot 40.3 percent (27 of 67) from the floor, 26.7 percent (8 of 30) from the three-point range, and 76.5 percent (13 of 17) from the free-throw line. They totaled 32 points in the paint, 8 points off the bench, and 20 points off turnovers.
FDU-Florham stays home on Saturday, January 27 for their next contest as the Devils play host to MAC Freedom opponent King's College for a 3:00 pm tip off. Before the contest, the Devils will officially dedicate Kindel Court to the late, great Men's Basketball coach and 2023 Devils Athletics Hall of Famer, Roger Kindel.
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