MADISON, N.J. (November 20, 2018) - The FDU-Florham men's basketball team lost in heartbreak fashion to Stevens Institute of Technology 75-74, Tuesday night at the Ferguson Rec. Center.
Both teams started slow out the gate, shooting a combined 3-13(23.1%) from the field during the first six minutes of regulation. During this slow start the Devils forced the Ducks to commit seven turnovers. The 6-2 lead the Devils held at 14:01 was the largest lead the Devils would hold in the first half.
With the score tied at 10, sophomore
Oliver Ortman drilled a trey with 11:21 remaining in the first half to give the Devils the lead again but the Ducks responded with a 21-2 run which lasted for just under seven minutes to push the score to 31-15 with 4:33 left in the frame. Back-to-back layups by junior
Rajaan Dixon and Ortman cut the deficit to 12. Stevens would respond with a corner three of their own to push their lead back up to 15.
A layup and a three pointer by junior
Kenneth LaRocca in the final 71 seconds made the score 36-24 going into half. Senior
Anthony Mitchell lead the Devils in scoring with six points and two rebounds.
After a quick 5-2 Ducks run to begin the second half, the Devils responded with a huge 16-2 run to make it a 43-42 game in favor of the visitors. During the run, the Devils shot an impressive 6-for-7 from the field and forced two turnovers. Sophomore
Shawn Smith was a perfect 2-for-2 from deep during this rally. The Devils completed the comeback attempt Dixon hit a tough layup with 14:33 remaining to tie the game at 46. The Ducks would respond with an 11-3 run to push the lead back up to eight before a layup by the senior
Tyler Christie ended the run.
Trailing 62-60, Smith came up huge for the Devils by hitting a deep three to give the Devils their first lead since 8:39 seconds into the game. After trading baskets, Smith hit another three to give the Devils a four-point lead with 6:14 remaining.
A layup by junior guard
Andy Fleurantin gave the Devils their largest lead of the night at 70-64 with 3:52 left in regulation, capping off a 16-3 run for the Devils. The Ducks cut the lead to one at 74-73 with 1:35 remaining, but three empty possessions down the stretch by the Devils came up costly as the Ducks took the lead for good with a layup with 0.9 showing on the clock. FDU had one final shot, but a long three-point attempt was short of the basket.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Dixon recorded his second double-double of the season finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
- Mitchell finished with a team-high 13 points, while Smith added 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting from deep.
- Christie finished with a career high six assists.
- The 50 points in the second half were a season-high for the team this season. The Devils also scored a season-best 74 points in total.
- FDU also scored 46 points in the paint, 20 more than previous best set in the season-opener against the College of Saint Elizabeth.
UP NEXT
The Devils next game will be at home vs. Vassar College Monday November 26, night at 7 p.m. at the Ferguson Rec. Center.
