Wilke-Barre, PA (February 1) - The FDU Men's Basketball team falls short on the road after a close match-up with King's (PA), ending in overtime.
The Devils were led by Christopher Smith (Florham Park, NJ) and Ethan Klueh (Orlando, FL.) each with 15 points. Adam Ziegler (West Grove, PA) followed behind, scoring 10.
The Devils opened the first half with a 6-3 run against the Monarchs. King's quickly caught up, bringing the score to an even 10-10 at the 16:22 time stamp. Devils baskets from Amir Williams (Bronx, NY), James Zingaro (Stratford, NJ), and Noah Pagan (Ringwood, NJ) kept FDU the lead, taking the score to 15-12 with 12:04 on the clock. The Monarchs started to gain offensive possession but 3-pointers from Ziegler and Klueh allowed the Devils to maintain a 4-point lead, 29-25 with 6:45 left in the half. The Monarchs offensive efforts allowed them to take the lead with a score of 37-34 with 4:13 left in the half. King's continued their scoring streak, ending the half in the lead with a 5-point lead against FDU, 42-37.
FDU needed to start the second half strong to come out of their deficit. The Devils evened the score to 42-42 with a jumper by Francis Denvir (Holland Township, N.J.) at the 18:40 time stamp. The Monarchs and Devils went basket for basket until King's put the Devils in a 6-point deficit, 57-51 with 10:25 remaining. FDU fought to take back the lead, but King's kept their distance. Carson Woods (Phoenix, AZ.), Klueh, Pagan, and Ziegler closed the deficit to a 3-point difference, 59-56 with 5:22 on the clock. The Devils continued to work to defeat the Monarchs, and baskets from Jaqwan Washington (Bryan, TX) and another 3-pointer from Klueh brought the Devils within 3 points of leading the game. King's was close to the win until the last 2 minutes of gameplay when Smith's layup brought the score to 66-66 and pushed the game into overtime.
The Monarchs and Devils were neck and neck for the duration of overtime, going basket for basket until King's gained the lead with less than 2 minutes remaining. King's grew the difference to a 5-point lead, 79-74, with 27 seconds left of play. The last Devil baskets of overtime came from Washington and Klueh but it was not enough to clinch the win. The Monarchs defeated the Devils 81-77.
As a team, FDU-Florham shot 40.6 percent (28-69) from the floor, 33.3 percent (9-27) from three-point range, and 85.7 percent (12-14) from the free throw line. They totaled 32 points in the paint, 29 off the bench, and 18 off turnovers.
King's shot 37.1 percent (23-62) from the floor, 50 percent (11-22) from three-point range, and 82.8 percent (24-29) from the free throw line. They totaled - points in the paint, -off the bench, and - off turnovers.
FDU-Florham will return home on Wednesday, February 5th as they face off Delaware Valley. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
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