NEWARK, N.J. (November 18, 2016) - The FDU-Florham men's basketball team gave No. 5 Tufts a scare, but ultimately fell 91-81 in the John K. Adams Tip-off Classic Friday.

FDU fell to 0-2, and will play either Rutgers-Newark or Southern Virginia in the Consolation matchup tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Tufts grabbed a double-digit lead with 9:58 left in the first half, and stretched the lead to a game-high 15 after a pair of free throws. The Devils did not go away quietly, and closed the first frame out a on 15-6 run. The rally was capped off with layups from freshman Timar Brown and senior Donte Ali, sandwiched between a steal from junior Veon Lassiter. Ali had seven points and six boards in the first half.

The Devils got back to within two, as sophomore Darren Davy knocked down a jumper one minute into the second stanza. After a pair of three's by the Jumbos, FDU tallied the next five with sophomore Derek Leohner connecting for four straight tallies.

Tufts once again stretched the edge to double-digits, but the Devils showed fight, getting to within a point on an Ali layup with 7:09 left. That would be as close as they would get however, as the Jumbos knocked down clutch free throws from the charity stripe to hold off the upset hopes.

FDU shot 38.2 percent from the field, as Ali and Davy each had 17 points. Ali broke a tie for fourth all-time on the school's double-double list, picking his 13th double-double of his career as he added 14 rebounds. Brown and Lassiter combined for 15 tallies off the bench in the setback.

Ethan Feldman and Eric Savage each had 18 points for Tufts.