DALLAS, Pa. – Despite piecing together a strong second half outing, the Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham men's basketball team was unable to overcome the large deficit and eventually fell to the Misericordia University Cougars 75-61 in a MAC Freedom game on Saturday afternoon.

The Devils (4-15, 2-6 MAC Freedom) were led by Donte Ali's seventh double-double of the season as he racked up 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field to along with 10 boards and three blocks. Freshman guard Anthony Mitchell also scored in double digits with a team-high 15 points while Tyler Christie added nine.

FDU-Florham experienced a lot of shooting woes in the loss as the team was held to just 29% from the field and 7-of-30 from long distance. Meanwhile, the Cougars (10-9, 4-4 MAC Freedom) had a lot of success on the offensive side of the ball, shooting over 40% for the game and having four of their players tally double figures in scoring.

The Devils opened up the contest on a 5-0 run after an Ali jump shot and a Veon Lassiter three-point make. However, the Cougars quickly responded with a 14-4 run.

Following back-to-back made three-point shots from Derek Leohner and Mitchell, the deficit was cut to two, but the Cougars once again managed to venture on a 20-7 run to close out the first half and expand the lead to 16.

In the second half, the Devils worked to chip into the Cougars' lead and following an Ali made mid-range jump shot, the deficit was cut to 11, 52-41, which marked the smallest deficit of the second stanza.

The Cougars responded by attacking the paint and making a pair of shots from beyond the arc on a 14-2 run to push the lead to over 20.

FDU-Florham closed out the contest on a 13-3 run, but at that point, the lead was insurmountable and the Cougars went on to grab the 75-61 conference win.

The Devils will be back on the court on Wednesday, February 3 for a home conference showdown with King's College slated for 8 p.m.