Box Score PURCHASE, NY - With a 46-43 lead and 5:17 remaining in the game, the College at Florham Devils only gave up two points the rest of the game on their way to a 56-45 win over Manhattanville in Freedom Conference action on Wednesday evening. Junior guard
Trevor Sykes led the way offensively with 18 points.
With the win, the Devils improved to 6-7 (2-1 Freedom) while the Valiants dropped to 7-7 (1-2 Freedom). It was also the first time FDU beat Manhattanville in Purchase since the Valiants joined the Freedom Conference.
The two squads went back-and-forth for the first ten minutes of the contest as the score was tied at 11-11 midway through the first half. The Valiants grabbed a 17-13 lead with 5:47 remaining but FDU went on an 11-4 run to take a 24-21 advantage with 1:00 to go thanks to five points from Sykes. The Valiants scored the last four points of the half however, to take a 25-24 lead into the locker room.
FDU had a five-point lead, 34-29, after a layup from Sykes with 15:19 to play but Manhattanville went on a 13-7 run to grab a 42-41 lead with 10:44 left. It was the last lead of the night for the Valiants though, as the Devils scored the next five points to go back on top by a margin of 46-41 with 6:11 to go. Manhattanville scored a minute later to make it 46-43 but the Devils really dug in defensively and allowed only two more points the rest of the way. During that span, Sykes hit a huge jumper to make it 48-43 with 4:24 left and sophomore guard
Kevin Furlong dropped in a driving layup with the shot clock running down to give the Devils a 50-43 edge with 1:19 to go. Furlong, junior forward
Will Green, and Sykes all hit two free throws in the final minute to seal the 56-45 victory.
Sykes added five rebounds and four steals to go along with his 18 points while Green tallied 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Furlong poured in 10 points while senior forward
Derek Hall recorded 10 points and 10 boards and played fantastic defense all night on Manhattanville's best player.
The Devils return to action on Saturday, January 12, 2013, at Misericordia beginning at 3 pm.
