CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Senior guard Kevin Furlong (Hazlet, N.J.) pieced together a season-high 26 points, but it was not enough as the FDU-Florham men's basketball team was defeated 82-68 on Saturday afternoon in a Freedom Conference game against the DeSales University Bulldogs in Center Valley, Pa.

The Bulldogs (10-5, 2-2 Freedom) were able to find their rhythm on the offensive end early and often as they began the game with a 23-6 run. A big reason for the Bulldogs early success was sopohmore Brian Laird who went 5-of-6 from behind the 3-point line in the first half for 17 of his 20 total points in the contest.

At the half, the Devils (1-14, 0-4 Freedom) found themselves down 46-27 with not much success on the offensive end aside from freshman guard Steve Herdman (South Amboy, N.J.), who found some good looks and went 5-of-10 from the field for 11 points. Herdman finished the game with a career-high 18 points.  

It was an overall tough shooting performance for the Devils in the first half. However, a quarter of the way through the second half, something was brewing for the Devils and things began to click at the right time.

With less than 15 minutes left to play in the game, there was a sudden change in momentum after freshman Ryan Rigby (Bristol, Pa.) buried a 3-point shot. Slowly but surely, the Devils began to build off of Rigby's made basket and sliced into the Bulldogs' large lead, cutting the deficit to six following a 28-6 run that lasted eight minutes. It was capped off by an offensive rebound and made layup by sophomore Donte Ali (Willingboro, N.J.) who scored eight points for the Devils while also reeling in eight rebounds.

After only eight points in the first half for Furlong, he teamed up with Herdman and the two came up big for the Devils, combining for 22 points during the team's late push.

The game was still in reach and the Devils kept chipping away and with five minutes remaining, the Bulldogs lead had almost completely disappeared as the Devils only trailed by three points. However, the Bulldogs survived by responding with a 15-4 run of their own to close the game out and ultimately seal the victory.  

Next up for the Devils:

FDU-Florham will faceoff against Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, Pa. on Wednesday, January 21 at 8 p.m.