ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – Propelled by freshman guard Derek Leohner's career-high 21 points, the Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham men's basketball team outlasted Eastern University 84-79 in overtime on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Devils (4-10, 2-1 MAC Freedom) pick up their second conference victory of the season and snap a five-game skid.
The Devils defense limited the Eagles (7-7, 1-2 MAC Freedom) to just 4-of-25 (16%) from downtown, while offensively FDU-Florham connected on 40 percent from long range.
Five Devils reached double figures in scoring highlighted by double-doubles for sophomore forward Veon Lassiter and junior forward Donte Ali. Lassiter finished with 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, while Ali posted 12 points and corralled 11 boards on the night.
After the Eagles registered the first two points of the game at the free throw line, the Devils responded with an 11-0 run to stake a nine-point lead early on. A pair of treys by sophomore guard Steve Herdman spurred on the run for the Devils, while Leohner also knocked down a trey over that stretch.
Jayson Hughes' layup with 4:29 to go in the opening half gave the Devils their largest lead, 32-17. Three players scored in double-figures in the first stanza led by Herdman's 11 tallies and 10 points apiece from Hughes and Veon Lassiter as the Devils carried a 38-28 advantage into the locker room.
The Eagles outscored the Devils 15-7 over the first seven minutes of action, which cut the deficit down to two, 45-43.
With the Eagles leading by four with two minutes to play in regulation, back-to-back layups from Lassiter and Donte Ali pulled the Devils even. Leohner banked in a jumper, which briefly put the Devils in front, however, Eastern's Austin James responded with a long two-pointer with 29 seconds to go resulting in a tie game.
After a Devils' turnover, James nearly won the game with a breakaway layup but Leohner was able to swat away the game-winning attempt and the contest proceeded to overtime.
The teams traded buckets before a personal foul and a technical foul allowed the Devils to grab a three-point edge at the free throw line, 80-77 with 1:30 to go. From that point, the Devils were able to close out the game at the line as Herdman knocked down four straight free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.
Herdman finished with 20 points and six rebounds, while his backcourt mate Hughes filled up the box score with 12 points, six assists and four rebounds in the win.
Shaquan Turk poured in a game-best 35 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Eagles. Turk was incredibly efficient, connecting on 11 of his 14 shot attempts in the loss.
The Devils return home to Madison for their next contest this Saturday, February 16 against DeSales University at 3 p.m.
