Madison, NJ (January 8) - The FDU Men's Basketball team was tripped up by King's during their first MAC Freedom Conference game of the season, 74-57. The Devils were led by Christopher Smith (Florham Park, NJ) and Mac Creek (Louisville, KY.), each scoring 14 points. Following Smith and Creek was Carson Woods (Phoenix, AZ.) with 11 points.  

The King's Monarchs opened the first half with an 8-7 run over the Devils, leading the opening possessions of gameplay. The Devils were able to take the lead to 16-15 with made jumpers from Adam Ziegler (West Grove, PA) and Woods, but the Monarchs quickly answered as they were up by 5 points at the 10:35 time stamp. The score evened to 24-24 with less than 4 minutes remaining in the half and in an effort to take the lead, the Devils fought for offensive control but Noah Pagan (Ringwood, NJ) was the lone Devil to earn a basket, bringing the score to 26-30 at the half.  

During the second half, the Devils opened with a 5-0 unanswered run over the Monarchs, leading 33-30. The score remained close as FDU and King's went basket for basket during the next 5 minutes of gameplay, with Devils points coming from Washington, Woods, Ethan Klueh (Orlando, FL.), and Pagan. The score reached 43-42, Monarch lead, with 13:00 remaining on the clock. King's began to grow the point differential as they took the lead to 58-42 at the 7:37 minute mark. Smith and Creek shot the last few Devils baskets, but it wasn't enough to regain the lead as the Monarchs came out on top, 74-57. 

As a team, FDU-Florham shot 36.9 percent (24-65) from the floor, 21.4 percent (6-28) from three-point range, and 42.9 percent (3-7) from the free throw line. They totaled 34 points in the paint, 13 off the bench, and 12 off turnovers. 

King's shot 43.5 percent (27-62) from the floor, 36 percent (9-25) from three-point range, and 61.1 percent (11-18) from the free throw line. They totaled 30 points in the paint, 20 off the bench, and 18 off turnovers. 

FDU-Florham will next travel to DeSales on Saturday, January 11th. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 pm. 
 
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