WILKES-BARRE, PA (January 12, 2019) – Senior swingman James Willis had another explosive scoring evening for the King's College men's basketball team, coming off the bench to post a game-best 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting to lead the Monarchs past FDU-Florham 81-71 in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play from McGrane Gymnasium Saturday.

The win for the Monarchs (3-12, 1-3 MAC Freedom) was an important one as it snapped a five-game skid while getting the offense going with 81 points. The point total was their second-highest of the season, behind the 115 points when King's defeated Clarks Summit University 115-70 November 19. Willis was the star in that game as well, posting a career-high 30 points in that contest for King's.

The Monarchs jumped out quick on their visitors, scoring eight of the first 10 points, capped by a jumper from Tyler Millan with 15:58 to go in the first half. King's pushed its lead up to eight points after another jumper from Millan, but FDU-Florham (4-11, 1-3 MAC Freedom) battled back to tie the game at 17 after a triple from Tyler Christie.

The Devils took their largest lead of the game at 23-19 with 9:01 to play in the opening period after a lay-up by Darren Davy, but freshman Kevin Hunter drilled a three-pointer on the next possession for KC to spark a 12-0 run for the Monarchs which finished on a three-pointer by Willis with 5:22 to go in the half. King's increased its lead to 13 points after another trifecta from the senior, taking a 12-point edge at 41-29 into the locker room for halftime.

The hosts shot 40 percent from the floor in the first half, drilling six from behind the arc, while also holding a 16-8 edge in points in the paint and 11-3 lead in second-chance points. Part of that was due to the 27-18 rebounding advantage King's posted over the first 20 minutes, which including nine offensive caroms.

In the second half, King's built it's edge up to a game-high 16 points with 18:19 to play in the game after a rebound put-back by Joe Lonardi. The Devils would claw back into the contest thanks to a 9-0 run over 1:22 of the half, making the score 54-50 with 10:27 left. Two possessions later with the hosts up four, King's had maybe its best possession of the game, moving the ball around and finding a wide-open Hunter who drilled a deep three to make it a seven-point game again at 59-52.

FDU-Florham drew to within one possession at 61-58 after a three-pointer from Anthony Mitchell, but an 8-2 mini-run capped by a Willis triple at 5:40 of regulation pushed the King's edge back up to nine at 69-60. The Devils once again pulled back to within four but an 11-3 stretch from King's helped the Monarchs secure their first conference victory of the season.

Willis posted his game-high 26 points thanks to 6-of-11 shooting from behind the three-point line, also making all four free throws including one four-point play. Willis added five rebounds as well for King's, and junior Andrew Hudak continued to play well with 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists.  Sophomore Noah Tanner was 4-of-7 from the floor, scoring 12 points to go with a game-high six assists and five boards.

Lonardi also chalked up nine points and nine rebounds, playing very good defense all game as he was a +17 for the game. King's posted a 34-22 points in the paint edge, thanks to a 47-29 rebounding margin including 16 offensive boards that led to 15 second-chance points. King's shot 42.9 percent from the field, and the 10 made triples was the third-most this year behind the 12 against Clarks Summit and Grove City College.

Davy was the leading scorer for FDU, as he posted 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting, making 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Mitchell also tallied 14 points, and Oliver Ortman came off the bench to register 11 points. Shawn Smith chalked up eight points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals as well for the Devils, who struggled from the floor overall (34.6 percent, 18-52) as well as from behind the arc (21.4 percent, 6-28).

King's hosts local rival Wilkes University in another crucial MAC Freedom contest in McGrane Gymnasium at 6 p.m. Wednesday, January 16.