COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham men's basketball team held an 11-point first-half lead but were unable to hold off the No. 20 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in a 84-73 loss on Monday evening at the Pikes Peak Holiday Classic at Colorado College.

The Devils (3-8) trailed by one at the break but the Warhawks (8-2) pulled away by shooting 63.3 percent in the second half for the win.

Four Devils tallied double figures led by junior forward Donte Ali's 19-point effort. Ali added five rebounds, four assists, and two steals to his ledger, while sophomore guard Steve Herdman finished with 14 points and six rebounds on an efficient 5-of-6 shooting performance.

Leading 12-11 early in the first half, a pair of layups promptly followed by back-to-back treys from Derek Leohner and Veon Lassiter stretched the Devils' advantage to nine. After a Wisconsin-Whitewater timeout, freshman guard Jayson Hughes set up Ali for a smooth layup, which resulted in the Devils' largest lead of the game, 24-13.

The Devils maintained a lead for most of the opening half but the nationally-ranked Warhawks eventually erased the deficit by scoring the final nine points and carried a 39-38 edge into the break.

Lassiter made all four of his shots including three from downtown en route to 11 first half points.  As a team, the Devils connected on 6-of-11 from behind the arc for a 54.5 percent clip, while limiting the Warhawks to just 2-of-7 from 3-point range.

The game remained tight and the Devils pulled even at 51-51 with 14:24 to go in the second half. But the Warhawks moved in front on their next possession with a 3-pointer by Cole Van Schyndel and remained in control until the final horn.

The Warhawks did most of their damage in the painted area, outscoring the Devils 58-34 on points in the paint, while out-rebounding FDU-Florham 40-30.

Van Schnydel led all scorers with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting, while fellow teammate Drew Bryson also had the touch, knocking down 6-of-7 shots on his way to 15 points.

The loss caps the Devils' two-game trip at Colorado College as the team now returns home for their next game on Monday, January 4 against The College of New Jersey. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Ferguson Recreation Center.