MADISON, N.J. (DECEMBER 5, 2018) - The FDU-Florham men's basketball team dropped their conference opener to DeSales University 80-64, Wednesday night.
The Devils drop to 2-7, 0-1 in the Middle Atlantic Conference, while DeSales moves to 4-4, 1-0 in the MAC Freedom.
Senior
Anthony Mitchell scored the first basket of the game to give the Devils a 2-0 lead, but the Bulldogs responded with a quick 8-2 run to push the score to 8-4 in favor of the Bulldogs with 16:28 remaining in the half. The Devils fell behind by as much as nine in the half but a three from junior
Andy Fleurantin cut the Bulldog lead to just six at 20-14.
The Devils continued to chip away at the deficit during the half including coming just three points away on three separate occasions. Mitchell's three with 3:17 left in the half made the score 31-28 but the Bulldogs closed the half on am 8-2 run to head into half with a 39-30 lead. At the break, Mitchell and Fleurantin had 10 points each to lead the Devils, with junior
Rajaan Dixon leading the way with five rebounds.
The Devils came out in the second half on a 4-0 run on baskets by Mitchell and Dixon but the Bulldogs quickly responded with a 5-0 run to give the Bulldogs a 10-point lead their first double-digit lead of the game. After trade baskets, four straight free throws by Mitchell made it a 46-40 game. However, a 16-4 run by the Devils gave them an 18-point lead, forcing the Devils to call a timeout with the score 62-44.
After two free throws by Dixon, DeSales responded with a three to extend their lead to 19, with 8:29 remaining in the game. With just over six minutes remaining, Dixon would complete the double-double when he recorded his 10
th rebound of the night off a missed Bulldog free throw. The Bulldogs would outscore the Devils 13-11 down the stretch to close out the game.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Dixon's double-double was the fourth of the season for him, fifth of his career.
- Sophomore Niko Regus scored his first points of the 2018-19 season.
- With 18 points tonight, Mitchell is now 263 points away from 1,000 career points.
UP NEXT
The Devils will continue conference play at home on Saturday December 8, at 3 p.m. against Misericordia University. Last season the Devils went 0-2 against the Cougars, losing the home matchup 66-62.