MADISON, N.J. – A cold-shooting night prevented the FDU-Florham men's basketball team from earning its first Freedom Conference victory of the season, as the Devils suffered a 66-55 defeat to Eastern University at the Ferguson Recreation Center on Wednesday night.

The Devils (1-13, 0-3 Freedom) connected on just 28.1 percent of their shots on the night, including 7-of-30 (23.3%) in the second half. The Eagles (5-9, 1-2 Freedom) matched the Devils' futility in the first half by posting a 27.6 percent effort, but righted the ship in the second stanza by knocking down 46.2 percent from the field.

Making his second consecutive start, freshman forward Ryan Rigby (Bristol, Pa.) led the Devils with a game-high 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting and added five rebounds to his ledger in the loss.

Malcolm Garrison paced the Eagles' attack with 13 points, six rebounds, and two blocked shots in the winning effort.

Both teams got off to a dreadful start as the two squads combined for seven turnovers in the game's first 2:30 of action. Garrison registered the first points of the contest with an emphatic two-handed slam and after a layup by Eastern's Anthony Concepcion the Devils needed an early 30-second timeout.

The pace settled and sophomore forward Michael Barber (Middletown, N.J.) gave the Devils their first lead of the contest, 9-6, with a three-ball from the wing at the 16:07 mark. Following a free throw by Rigby, Barber struck again from downtown, which gave the Devils their largest lead of the contest at 13-6.

With both teams struggling to make shots, the game remained tight for the duration of the period and the Devils held a slim 27-24 advantage at intermission. The Eagles made just one of their 15 attempts from behind the arc in the first half, however, they managed to only trail by three due to 11 Devils' turnovers.

Eastern found the touch in the second half and knocked down their first three attempts from long range. The two teams traded long balls early on but after Steve Herdman's (South Amboy, N.J.) trey at 16:12 the Devils went cold.

With the game knotted at 38-38, the Eagles rattled off a 13-4 run to stake a nine-point lead with 7:21 to go. Garrison's jumper with 4:21 to go gave Eastern their first double-digit advantage of the game and the Eagles coasted to the finish as the Devils missed seven-straight shots before Donte Ali (Willingboro, N.J.) ended the drought with a layup in the final seconds.

Ali finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, while senior guard Kevin Furlong (Hazlet, N.J.) amassed a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards despite 1-for-11 shooting night.

Austin James contributed 12 points and eight rebounds and  Jonathan Tolber chipped in with nine points and five rebounds off of the bench for the Eagles in the victory.
The Devils will look to return to the win column in their next contest when they head to DeSales University (9-5, 1-2 Freedom) this Saturday, January 17 at 3 p.m.