COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Despite career games from freshmen guards, Derek Leohner and Anthony Mitchell, the Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham men's basketball team was defeated 106-86 by the Wartburg College Knights on Sunday afternoon in the Pikes Peak Holiday Classic.

Leohner shot 50 percent from the field and connected on six 3-pointers for a career-high 20 points. He also dished out five assists and tallied three steals in the game. Meanwhile, Mitchell was a huge spark off of the bench as he went 5-for-6 from the field including three made 3-point shots for a career-high 15 points.

Both the Devils (3-7) and the Knights (5-4) shot the ball well in the contest as each team was able to connect on more than half of their shot attempts. However, it was Wartburg who got off to the hot start, going on a 30-4 run in the first 10 minutes of the opening stanza.

As the halftime buzzer sounded, the Devils found themselves trailing the Knights 55-32.

The second half was highlighted by a tremendous shooting effort by FDU-Florham from beyond the arc as they combined to make nine 3-point shots. Leohner was responsible for four of the nine long range makes by the Devils.

About a quarter of the way through the second half, the Devils went on an 8-2 run to trim the deficit to 15 after Mitchell buried a 3-pointer. However, that was the closest that the Devils were able to make it as Wartburg responded by converting on four consecutive layup attempts.

That was the story all game for the Knights as they maintained their large lead by efficiently scoring inside the painted area.

For the game, Wartburg tallied 56 points in the paint. Jordan Cannon led the Knights with a game-high 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field. Alongside Cannon, four other Knights were able to score in double figures.

FDU-Florham worked tirelessly to get to the free throw line in the second half and junior forward Donte Ali made seven shots from the charity stripe and finished the game with 11 points.

Even though the shots were falling from long range for FDU-Florham, the Devils were unable to overcome the large deficit and ultimately fell to the Knights.

The Devils will return to action on Monday, December 28 for a showdown against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at 7 p.m. (EST) to close out the Pikes Peak Holiday Classic.