HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 21, 2017) - The FDU men's basketball team fell to in-state rival Stevens 96-86 Tuesday evening.

FDU falls to 0-3 on the short season, while Stevens evens its mark at 2-2.

The Devils started off hot, hitting their first four shots of the evening, as freshman Ahmad St. Fleur, sophomore Rajaan Dixon and senior Steve Herdman each knocked down treys to put FDU up 14-8. The hosts Ducks used an 11-0 run midway through the period to pull ahead 27-23, and stretched the lead to seven on a layup with 4:53 to go.
Dixon and junior Anthony Mitchell combined for seven straight tallies to help the Devils pull even at 36, but the Ducks closed the half out with a 7-0 run over the final 2:20 of the period.

FDU shot a crisp 50% from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including 5-of-11 from behind the arc. Junior Darren Davy led the way with nine first half points on 4-of-5 shooting.

A Mitchell jumper trimmed the Devils deficit down to six with 13:03 left, as the Devils tried to claw back into the game. The Ducks hot-shooting from behind the arc in the second stanza pushed the lead to double-digits, and as high as 19, but the Devils attempted a late flurry to climb back.

With the team trailing 79-60 with 4:35 left, the Devils went on a 16-4 run, capped off with a layup by Mitchell to bring the lead to seven. That would be as close as the Devils would get, as free throws down the stretch proved to be too much for the visitors to over come. Sophomore Joe Duffy helped spirit the comeback hopes, knocking down a pair of threes and two free throws during the rally.

Davy and Dixon each recorded double-doubles in the setback, as Dixon had 19 points and 10 points before fouling out. Davy had 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Herdman notched 13 points. Mitchell and freshman Shawn Smith combined for 16 points off the bench.

FDU will be back in action on Saturday, taking part in the Sig Makofski Tournament hosted by Union College. They will face Westfield State in the first game at 2 p.m.