Reading, PA (December 29, 2019)- Men's Basketball played game one of the Crowne Plaza Holiday Tournament at Albright College on Sunday evening, defeating the host Lions 80-76. With the victory, FDU improves to 5-5 on the season while Albright falls to 6-5.

Both teams scored early and often with the game seeing five lead changes and two ties in the first six-minutes. The Devils would take a 16-15 lead on senior Andy Fleurantin's three-pointer with 13:45 left. FDU would go on a 14-4 run, taking a 30-19 lead with 7:42 remaining on a freshman Tommy Drubulis three-pointer. Back and forth action spelled the rest of the half, with the Devils holding a 41-30 advantage at the break.

Junior Oliver Ortman would score 7 of the teams first 9 points in the second half and Fleurantin added five keeping FDU in front 53-42 with 14:01 remaining in the game. The Devils would hold a lead of seven points or greater until a Lions jumper at 8:11 brought the score to 64-59. Albright was able to fight the next six minutes of play and cut the FDU lead to 75-74 with 1:15 remaining.
Fleurantin would knock down a three and freshman Andrew Schulz hit two free-throws to seal the game with FDU in front 80-76.  

LEAD DEVIL
Fleurantin led all Devils in scoring finishing with 31 points on 12-of-19 (63%) from the field and 7-of-10 (70%) from beyond the arc, adding a team high 8 rebounds.

THE COUNTERPART
Ortman scored 20+ points for the fifth time this season and ended the game with 24 points on 10-of-21 (48%) from the field.

OFF THE BENCH
The Devils bench outscored Albright's 12-7, including the game's final two-points to seal the victory.

FROM COACH
"Really proud of our guys for never giving up and making a couple big, tough plays down the stretch. Time to get off our feet and get ready to take on a very good Virginia Wesleyan squad tomorrow afternoon." - Head Coach Jeff Slanovec

NEXT UP
FDU plays in the Championship game of the Crowne Plaza Holiday Tournament against Virginia Wesleyan University with tip-off set for 4 PM at Albright College.