Box Score DALLAS, Pa. – The FDU-Florham Devils men's basketball team rallied from seven-points down at the break to earn an important double-digit victory over Misericordia University 70-60 on Saturday afternoon at the Anderson Center.
With the win, the Devils (10-9, 5-3 Freedom) now find themselves in a second place tie with the Cougars (11-8, 5-3 Freedom) in the Freedom Conference standings. Both teams trail division-leading Delaware Valley College by one game.
The game was knotted at 24 with 5:38 to play in the opening half but the Cougars outscored the Devils 11-4 over the final five minutes and entered halftime with a 35-28 lead. Misericordia's bench contributed to the lead by tallying 11 first-half points, led by reserve forward
Cael Evans, who finished the game with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
After tying the game at 39-39, the Devils fell victim to a 10-3 spurt by the Cougars and were once again trailing by seven points. Back-to-back three-pointers by Andrews Stress (Wrightstown, Pa./Council Rock North) and
John Flete (Flemington, N.J./North Hampton CC) brought the Devils right back into the contest and the two team's proceeded to trade baskets over the next several minutes.
With 5:34 to play in regulation, two baskets by
Donte Ali (Willingboro, N.J./Medford Tech) and a jumper by
Trevor Sykes (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's Boys) gave the Devils a 64-58 lead. Down the stretch, Flete converted crucial free throws to seal the victory as FDU-Florham scored 12 of the last 14 points in the game.
Junior guard
Kevin Furlong (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) led the Devils with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Sykes chipped in with 15 points. Ali provided an important spark off of the bench by pulling down 15 boards and scoring eight points, both career-highs, in the victory.
Misericordia junior forward
Steve Ware paced the Cougars with 14 points and seven rebounds in defeat. The Devils shot 51.7 percent from the floor in the decisive second half of action.
Next up for the Devils:
FDU-Florham heads to Purchase, NY this Wednesday, February 5
th to take on Manhattanville College with tip slated for 8 p.m.
