DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (February 11, 2017) – The FDU men's basketball team fell to in-conference rival Delaware Valley 77-73 Saturday.
FDU drops to 6-17, 3-9 in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom, while Delaware Valley improved to 13-9, 8-3 in the conference.
With the score even at five, the Devils opened up 9-2 run, finished off with a layup by senior
Donte Ali. FDU would stretch the lead to double-figures multiple times over the first 20 minutes, and grabbed their biggest lead of the half with 5:58 left off a trey by freshman
Rajaan Dixon to go up 11. After the Aggies hit a pair of free throws, sophomore
Derek Leohner capped off the Devils first half scoring with a layup.
FDU shot 50% from the field and 55.6% from three in the opening stanza, and Ali led the unit with 11 Leohner ended the half with 10 and five boards, as Dixon chipped in nine in the first half.
The Devils went up 11 after a trey by Leohner, Delaware Valley scored the next four to get within a single digit gap. The Aggies trimmed the lead down to two points, but a thunderous dunk by Ali capped off with a free throw pushed the Devils back in front by five. The Aggies evened the game at 59 with 9:30 left on a trey by Andre' Butler, but sophomore
Anthony Mitchell scored a layup and hit the ensuing free throw to go back up three.
The teams traded single possession leads for the remainder of the half, and Ali drained a jumper to even everything once again at 68. Delaware Valley finally broke the trend as Mike Cianculli hit a pair from the charity stripe giving the hosts a four-point lead with under two minutes left. Senior
James Moran knocked home a three, but Austin Stoeckel converted a layup to go back up three. The Devils two chances to tie, but the Aggies were able to force a pair of turnovers to stop the comeback.
Ali finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Leohner ended with 15. Dixon went 3-of-7 from three, ending with 14 points on the afternoon.
The team will be back in action on Tuesday, traveling to Manhattanville for an 8 p.m. game.
