UNION, N.J. (11/28/07) - Senior guard Lamar Wright (Galloway, N.J.) scored a game-high 25 points, however it could not offset five player in double figures for King's College, as the Kean University men's basketball team dropped a 80-72 decision to the visiting Monarchs on Wednesday evening. Click here to view this slideshow

King's senior guard Jamie Cousart (Holland, Pa.) was one of three players with 15 points, while also adding a game-high eight assists. The Monarchs went to the foul line 34 times, compared to just eight trips to the charity stripe for the Cougars, as Kean was whistled for 29 fouls to only 13 fouls for King's.

The Monarchs led by as many as nine points at 28-19 with just under five minutes remaining in the opening half, before the Cougars cut the deficit to five points on three separate occasions before trailing by seven at halftime (37-30).

Wright led the Cougars with 14 first-half points, while Monarch senior guard Jim Welsh (Philadelphia, Pa.) led King's with nine points in the opening half.

King's scored the first 10 points of the second half to quickly extend the lead to 16 points just 2:01 into the half, and eventually would push the lead out to 17 points on a pair of free throws by senior forward Vince Scalzo (Shickshinny, Pa.) for a 70-53 lead with 6:58 remaining.

Wright knocked down a pair of three-pointers to start a 16-6 run as the Cougars cut the deficit seven points at 79-71 with just 1:37 remaining, however Welsh knocked down a three-pointer on the Monarchs next possession to push the lead back out to 10 points to seal the eight-point victory.

A pair of freshmen came off the bench and scored in double-figures for Kean, as guard Keith Williams (Jersey City, N.J.) and forward Jonathan Jones (Linden, N.J.) had 12 points and 10 points, respectively. Williams (pictured left) added five rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Jones (pictured right) blocked four shots and hit 5-of-7 from the floor.

For King's, Welsh had 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc, while senior guard Kofi Dwebeng (Voorhees, N.J.) had 15 points and five rebounds. Scalzo scored 13 points, and senior center John Soboleski (Ashley, Pa.) had 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

The Cougars have a 10-day layoff before opening New Jersey Athletic Conference play when Kean hosts William Paterson University in the NJAC opener on Saturday, December 8. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.