CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – In a game that came down to the wire, the FDU-Florham men's basketball team dropped its MAC Freedom opener Wednesday night as the Devils fell to the Bulldogs 70-65.
DEVILS HIGHLIGHTS
- Chris Smith led all Devils scorers with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and added five boards.
- Noah Pagan tallied 11 points on 4-of-11 from the field with six boards.
- Ethan Klueh rounded out FDU's double digit scorers as he finished with 11 on 4-of-6 from the field including a 3-for-5 performance from beyond the arc.
- O'Malley King notched a game-high eight rebounds for the Devils.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Bulldogs jumped in front early as Theo Gladue recorded the contest's first points with an unassisted trey. The Bulldogs went on to lead for the entire first half.
- Despite falling behind by as many as 10 points three separate times in the opening half, FDU used consecutive triples from Klueh and a jumper from Mac Creek to cut the deficit to two, 27-25, with 2:52 to play. DeSales' Luke Keppel went 1-for-2 from the line to end the half and give the Bulldogs a three-point edge headed to the break.
- In the second half, FDU took its first lead of the game after an and-one layup from King at the 16:45 mark.
- Smith added to the lead with a layup of his own to put the Devils ahead 34-30 with 16:09 to play.
- DeSales regained a five-point lead after back-to-back treys from Keppel, but FDU regained a 47-46 lead after a three from Creek and a tip-in layup from Smith.
- The two squads traded blows back-and-forth the remainder of the contest, but the Bulldogs outlasted the Devils 70-65.
GAME NOTES
- Wednesday night's 12 lead changes were the second most in a game this year for the Devils (13 vs Stevenson)
- Smith recorded his 11th double-digit point game
UP NEXT
The Devils return to the court on Saturday, Jan. 10 as FDU hosts King's College. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
For the latest on FDU-Florham Athletics, follow the Devils via social media (@FDUDevils) on X, Facebook, and Instagram.
