MADISON, N.J. – For the second time this season, the Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham men's basketball team battled the Wilkes University Colonels down to the wire but ultimately came up short, falling 90-84 at the Ferguson Recreation Center on Tuesday night.
The Devils (4-20, 2-11 MAC Freedom) erased a 15-point second half deficit and weathered a 3-point barrage from Wilkes guard Alec Wizar but were unable to edge the Colonels (12-12, 7-6 MAC Freedom) in the final seconds.
Back on January 22, these two teams played a double-overtime thriller, which ended in a Colonels' 93-89 victory.
In the second half, the Devils shot nearly 60 percent from the floor led by freshman guard Anthony Mitchell, who finished with 24 points, five assists and four rebounds. The first-year guard played all 40 minutes and knocked down 50 percent of his opportunities from the field.
Wizar, the MAC Freedom's leading three-point shooter, carried his team in the second half with seven treys and poured in 25 of the team's 50 points in the second stanza. The Colonels' senior guard finished with a game-high 33 points and buried nine shots from beyond the arc.
The two teams played a back-and-forth first half but the Colonels carried a 35-30 edge into the break after Wizar knocked down a fall-away 3-pointer as the halftime horn sounded.
FDU-Florham surged out of the halftime locker room with eight straight points, including treys from Mitchell and senior guard Charlie Slack. Slack celebrated his senior night by netting a career-high 17 points in the contest.
With the Devils now leading 43-40, Wizar went to work. The sharpshooting guard knocked down four-straight treys and helped push the Colonels in front 58-53. After a pair of James Moran free throws, the Colonels struck again with a 14-2 run, during which, they knocked down all six of their shots including two 3-pointers.
FDU-Florham managed to claw back and received a boost from freshman guard Tyler Christie, who entered the game and scored seven quick points. Trailing 77-69 with 5:45 to go, Mitchell and Christie each connected from long range, which made it a one-possession game.
Freshman forward Zachary Brunner came up big for the Colonels with a crucial offensive rebound on a missed free throw and then put in a layup for an 84-79 Wilkes lead.
With 1:16 to go, FDU-Florham big man Veon Lassiter stepped up and swished a long 3-pointer, and after each team traded layups, the Devils found themselves down 86-84 with 22 seconds left.
Wizar, who had been locked in for most of the second half, missed the front end of the one-and-one, which gave the Devils a chance to tie in the waning seconds. Mitchell took a handoff from Donte Ali, pirouetted into the lane and tossed in a soft floater, which appeared to tie the game. However, the referees ruled that Mitchell traveled before the shot and waived off the basket.
The Colonels were able to close out the win at the free throw line to secure the six-point victory.
Ali filled up the box score for FDU-Florham with nine points, seven rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocks in the loss, while Lassiter narrowly missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Overall, the Devils registered their highest shooting percentage of the season at 55.8 percent but struggled at the free throw line with a 13-for-20 performance.
Wilkes' Steve Stravinski earned a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the win, while Brunner joined him in double figures with 17 points.
Tonight's loss marks the end of the home portion of the Devils' schedule as they wrap up the 2015-16 season this Saturday, February 20 at Delaware Valley College at 3 p.m.
