GLENSIDE, Pa. - Jalen Watkins' double-double lifted the Arcadia University men's basketball team to its third-straight victory to open the 2021 season Friday night, as the Knights topped visiting Wilkes, 86-79. Watkins posted 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench, while fellow sophomore
Justin Money went for a team-high 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field to go along with six boards and six assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Knights came out of the gates strong offensively, shooting 53.1 percent (17-32) from the field in the first half. Trailing by one at the 15-minute mark of the opening half,
Gabe Kier drained his first three of the game and set off a 13-2 run to vault the Knights to a ten-point lead. Johaan Vinson,
DJ Gardner, and Watkins all entered off the bench shortly after and made immediate contributions to keep the double-figure lead intact at the seven-minute mark of the half.
-Wilkes battled back to tie the game at 33-all with just over three minutes remaining in the opening half and later regained a one-point lead, but a Watkins layup and a
Jared Chambliss free throw in the final two minutes sent the Knights into the break with the lead, 41-39.
-Arcadia opened the second half with an 11-0 run over the first three minutes to race out to a game-high 13-point advantage. Money drilled a pair of threes while Davis pitched in another from beyond the arc, before Kier and Gardner followed suit to maintain a double-digit lead.
-The Colonels made their way back into the game to shrink the deficit to three with just over eight minutes remaining in regulation, but an ensuing 13-2 Arcadia run - fueled by four points each from Vinson and Watkins - put the Knights back up 11 to lead them to the 86-79 victory.
KNIGHT LEADERS
-Points: Money 19, Davis 17, Watkins 12, Kier 11
-Assists: Davis/Money 6
-Rebounds: Watkins 14, Money 6, Davis 5
-Blocks: Watkins 3. Kier 2
-Steals: Money 3
TEAM COMPARISON
-The Knights shot 50.8 percent (31-61) from the field while limiting the Colonels to an even 38 percent mark (30-79).
-Wilkes held the edge on the glass, 48-40.
-Arcadia forced 12 Wilkes turnovers and scored 11 points on the possessions that followed.
UP NEXT
Arcadia (3-0) makes the trip to Wilkes Saturday to conclude week two of the season. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.
