NEW YORK, N.Y. –  The FDU-Florham men's basketball team suffered a 69-48 setback against Baruch College at ARC Arena on Saturday evening.

For the second straight outing, the Devils (1-4) struggled to knock down shots in the opening half. FDU-Florham shot a shade over 33 percent from the floor, while the Bearcats (2-1) hit 50 percent of their attempts in the opening stanza.

Following a midrange jumper by Veon Lassiter (Elizabeth, N.J.) and a 3-pointer by Kevin Furlong (Hazlet, N.J.) the Devils had erased a 5-0 deficit and claimed a 9-5 lead seven minutes into play.

Unfortunately, the Bearcats quickly evened the score and moved ahead for good when Bryler Page drained a shot from beyond the arc to give the home team a 13-11 lead.

Baruch freshman forward Chimaechi Ekekeugbor gave the FDU-Florham defense fits and attacked the rim throughout the half, en route to eight points and five boards, which led the Bearcats to a 36-23 advantage at the break.

FDU-Florham sophomore forward Donte Ali (Wilingboro, N.J.) led the Devils with seven points at the break but was unable to convert several short looks in the key. Despite shooting 2-for-10 from the floor, Ali finished the contest with 15 points thanks to an efficient 11-of-12 performance from the charity stripe and came up one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards in the loss.

In the second half, the Devils were not able to turn the tide and the Bearcats continued to control the pace of the game. Baruch used its massive size advantage to dominate inside of the paint and steadlily fed Brian McMahon and Granville Gittens, who consistently earned prime post position throughout the contest.

A layup by Ekekeugbor with 6:24 remaining in the game gave the Bearcats their largest lead of the contest at 24 points. Meanwhile, the Devils offensive woes continued and they were limited to just five made field goals in the second stanza. In total, FDU-Florham finished 13-of-51 (25.5%) from the field.

Ekekeugbor ended the game with 17 points and corralled 10 rebounds, while Gittens added 11 points and three steals in the victory.

For the Devils, Ali added two blocks to his ledger and was the only Devil to reach double-figures in points. Junior forward Jesse Oringer (Chester, N.J.) finished second on the team with seven points and three rebounds on 50 percent shooting in defeat.

Next up for the Devils:
FDU-Florham begins Freedom Conference action when they visit Misericordia University this Wednesday, December 3^rd at 8 p.m.