MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — In his first start for the Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team, Ray Ford, Jr. (Jersey City, N.J.) connected for 19 points in the first half against No. 3 John Carroll, but the Blue Streak came back in the second to narrowly beat the Falcons, 108-90, in the season opener at the Penn. State Harrisburg Tip-Off Classic on Saturday.

Ford earned 22 total points for the Falcons, while Jayquan Kirkland (Stratford, Conn.) came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points, including 12 in the second half.

THE BASICS

FINAL: #3 John Carroll 108 | Albertus Magnus 90

RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (0-1) | John Carroll (1-0)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Malcolm Duncanson (West Haven, Conn.) swished the game's opening points off a jump shot set up by Ta'zhon Daniels' (New Haven, Conn.) defensive rebound off a missed three-point attempt by John Carroll. Before the opening bucket, Albertus could apply pressure on John Carroll's offense with two missed three-point jumpers.
• Off an Albertus foul, Luke Chicone stepped on the line for two made free throws to knot the score at two apiece at 17:53 in the first half, followed by a made layup by Chicone for Blue Streaks' first lead of the night. Less than a minute later, Deivone Tanksley (Hartford, Conn.) found himself at the line to tie the contest again before Ford's three-pointer capped off the steal by Avery Hinnant (Naugatuck, Conn.) and the assist from Tanksley to put the Falcons up, 7-4.
• Kirkland netted his first buckets of the night to continue the Falcons' 5-0 scoring run with a jump shot off a foul by John Carroll. After being up two points five minutes into the first, Kirkland's made layup off the pass from Ford tacked on two more points for Albertus to maintain an 11-7 lead.
• Immediately off the bench, Lennox Serrano (Waterbury, Conn.) added two more points to the Falcons lead thanks to yet another assist by Ford. Forty Seconds later, Ford glided to the hoop for a layup to sustain a 15-9 advantage.
• Taufick Aziz (Ghana/Bronx, N.Y.) checked in shortly before securing two off a jumper, ignited by a defensive rebound by the junior and the helper by Ford, followed by a Ford three-point jump shot off Tanskley's rebound on the other side of the court for Albertus' largest lead so far, 20-11.
• Will Yontek narrowed the lead to seven with 9:36 remaining in the half, but Albertus went on a 16-4 run thanks to Tahijj Hunter (Mount Laurel, N.J.), Ford and Kirkland. Hunter sparked the Falcons scoring with two made free throws 12 seconds before Ford drew a foul for a pair of successful free throws. Hunter connected for back-to-back layups to push the lead to 11 as the stretch was capped off with a defensive rebound by the first-year and Kirkland connected for a three-pointer off the assist from Ford.
• Ford closed out the opening half with four points off a three-point jump shot and a made free throw.
• John Carroll drew first blood in the second half at 19:36, but Duncanson retaliated for two of his own six seconds later to keep the Falcons up, 50-42.
• Luke Fraizer's dunk capped off a 12-2 run for the Blue Streak but a made layup by Duncanson knotted the game at 54 each. Yontek made a layup to put John Caroll up, 56-54, and never lost the lead again. Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.) made free throws with 7:44 remaining in regulation and kept the score close, 86-77, but the Falcons continued to trail until time ran out.

TEAM STATS

Albertus 44.6 FG% | 42.1 3PT% | 88.9 FT%

John Carroll 50.8 FG% | 30.0 3PT% | 74.5 FT%

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES

Albertus

• Ray Ford, Jr. 22 Points | 8 Assists | 2 Steals | 1 Rebound | 5-5 FT
• Jayquan Kirkland 21 Points | 1 Assist | 1 Steal | 2-2 FT
• Malcolm Duncanson 12 Points | 1 Assist | 2 Rebounds | 4-7 FG | 4-4 FT
• Tahijj Hunter 12 Points | 5 Rebounds | 5-7 | 2-2 FT

 John Carroll

• Luke Chicone 27 Points | 11 Assists | 4 Rebounds | 4 Steals 
• Will Yontek 18 Points | 4 Rebounds | 1 Steal | 1 Block
• Luke Frazier 11 Points | 5 Rebounds | 2 Assists | 1 Steal | 1 Block
• David Gentry 11 Points | 6 Rebounds | 1 Assist | 3-3 FG

NOTEWORTHY

• This is the second time the two teams have met in program history, the last during the 2022-23 season.
• Albertus led in three-point percentage (42.1%) and in free throw percentage (88.9%) with Ford and Kirkland being the only Falcons to register three-pointers.

UP NEXT

The Falcons remain at Penn. State Harrisburg to face Franklin & Marshall on Sunday in day two of the Penn State Harrisburg Tip-Off Classic with a 1 p.m. tip-off.