ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – The FDU-Florham men's basketball team took the Eastern University Eagles down to the wire, but ultimately came up short in an 82-79 loss Saturday afternoon in St. Davids, Pa.
It was a rough start for the Devils (1-20, 0-10 Freedom), who found themselves trailing 15-3 five minutes into the game. However, they slowly began to chip away at the Eagles' (9-12, 5-5 Freedom) lead by consistently knocking down their shots. Led by Steve Herdman's (South Amboy, N.J.) 14 first half points on 5-of-8 shooting, the Devils were able to shoot 58 percent from the field. Herdman finished the game with a career-high 20 points.
The Devils successfully mounted the comeback following back-to-back Herdman 3-point shots with four minutes left in the half. Herdman was not the lone contributor as sophomore forward Donte Ali (Willingboro, N.J.) was a big presence with 10 of his 17 total points in the first half. Senior guard Kevin Furlong (Hazlet, N.J.) also helped Herdman facilitate the offense and pieced together seven points, seven rebounds and a career-high nine assists.
Entering the half with a 43-38 lead, the Devils had all the momentum.
The lead grew to 10 for the Devils in the second half after freshman forward Veon Lassiter (Elizabeth, N.J.) buried a jumper. Lassiter tied his career-high with 17 points in the game.
However, the Eagles were quick to respond and they went on two big runs. First was a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to one. Just a few minutes later, the Eagles were able to recapture the lead with a 12-0 run. Once the lead was back in favor of the Eagles, they were able to close the game out at the free throw line.
The Devils struggled to contain Malcolm Garrison, who led the Eagles with 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from behind the arc. Garrison had some help as three other members of the Eagles scored in double figures as they shot for 51 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the arc as a team.
FDU-Florham will return home to take on the Manhattanville Valiants on Wednesday, February 11, at 8 p.m.
