MADISON, NJ (January 10, 2026) – The King's men's basketball came away with an 84-80 win over FDU-Florham on Saturday afternoon at Ferguson Recreation Center. The Monarchs improved to 4-9 overall and 1-1 in MAC Freedom play, while the Devils fell to 5-8 overall and 0-2 in conference.

A stretch of back-and-forth play saw FDU with a 13-11 lead at the 14:11 mark. The Monarchs came out of the first media timeout firing, sparking a 10-0 run, led by seven straight points from Jaden Hall to bring their advantage to 21-13 at 11:39.

The Devils cut the deficit to as low as three at 29-26 with just over five minutes left in the half. The last five minutes of the opening frame was all Monarchs as back-to-back three's from Ben Malley ignited an 18-4 stretch, shooting 8-of-9 from the field and taking a 17 point, 47-30 lead into halftime.

Hall led the Monarchs with 14 first half points while Malley and Ben Rodner-Tims also found their way to double digits in the opening frame, contributing 11 and 10 respectively.

The first 12 minutes of the second half saw both teams trade baskets, with King's maintaining a 17-point advantage entering the final eight minutes. During that stretch, Sean Forrest's driving layup at 9:42 pushed the lead to 65-47, and Devin Kimmick added a finish at 8:08 to make it 67-50.

The Devils then responded with a 17-8 run to pull within 73-67 with 2:22 remaining. Key defensive stops from Ray Gooley and Cole Walker helped King's keep FDU-Florham at arm's length down the stretch.

Free throws from Rodner-Tims and Forrest in the closing seconds put the game out of reach as the Monarchs held on for the 84-80 MAC Freedom win.

The Monarchs scored 21 points off turnovers on the game and went 16-of-20 from the free-throw line in the second half, two factors that proved key throughout the contest.

Rodner-Tims led the way with 21 points, six rebounds, and three assists, while Malley added 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Kimmick contributed 12 points and five rebounds, and Forrest chipped in nine points with six rebounds. Hall went 6-of-13 from the floor for 16 points, and Ray Gooley added two blocks and seven rebounds against the Devils.

King's men's basketball heads to Hoboken, NJ on Wednesday, January 10^th as the Monarchs play the second game of a three-game road trip against the Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology at 5:30 p.m.