MADISON, N.J. (January 16, 2019) - The FDU-Florham men's basketball team was topped by Delaware Valley University 84-76, Wednesday night in MAC Freedom Conference play.

The Aggies scored the opening basket of the contest, but the Devils responded scoring the next eight points. Senior Anthony Mitchell had four points during the run, while senior Darren Davy and junior Kenneth LaRocca added two points each. The Devils pushed the lead to seven after a LaRocca three but then Delaware Valley responded with a 6-0 run of their own to make it 11-10 in favor of the Devils with 14:06 remaining in the half. Three-pointers by sophomore Shawn Smith and junior Andy Fleurantin helped the Devils extend the lead back to seven at 19-12 but the Aggies responded with another rally to make it a one possession game at 21-19.

The Devils surrendered the lead at 24-23 when the Aggies hit a three to cap off a 5-0 run. However, the Devils reclaimed the lead in part to a 5-0 run by sophomore Oliver Ortman. After an FDU-Florham timeout, the Aggies went on a 7-0 run to give them their largest lead of the half at 31-28 with 4:48 left in the half. LaRocca made two more triples late in the half to give the Devils a 41-39 lead going into the locker rooms.

The  junior LaRoccaopened up the scoring in the second half with his fourth deep ball of the night to make it 44-39 but the Aggies responded with two quick baskets of their own.  The Aggies would reclaim the lead at 49-47 but a three by Davy would give the Devils the lead again. After an Aggies lay-up, the Devils went on a 6-0 run to give them the lead at 56-51 but Delaware Valley responded with a 10-2 run to give the Aggies a three-point lead with 11 minutes left in the game.

The teams would continue to trade baskets over the next three minutes until the Aggies extended their lead to five at 69-64 with 6:19 remaining. A 7-3 Devils run got the Devils to within one at 72-71 with 2:34 left in regulation but that was as close at the Devils would get to completing the comeback attempt.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• LaRocca set a new career high with 19 points
• Senior Tyler Christie matched a career high with six assists.
• With 22 points, Mitchell led the Devils in scoring for the fifth time this season.

UP NEXT
The Devils will continue MAC Freedom play on Friday January 18, at 8:00 p.m. against Wilkes University.