PURCHASE, N.Y. (February 13, 2019)  - The FDU-Florham men's basketball team was edged by Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom rival Manhattanville 79-78 Wednesday evening.

FDU falls to 6-18, 3-10 in the MAC Freedom, with the Valiants boosting their record to 10-14, 4-9 in the conference.

The Devils opened the game with 10 of the first 12 points, spanning the first 2:55. With 11:23 remaining in the opening half, senior Tyler Christie drained a three off a feed from junior Kenneth LaRocca, extending the FDU edge to 13 points. A triple from senior Anthony Mitchell four minutes later pushed the lead to 19 points, forcing the Valiants to take a timeout.

Mitchell hit another layup to increase the gap to 20, but the hosts tallied nine straight markers before junior Andy Fleurantin converted a pair from the charity stripe. The Valiants closed the period with four consecutive points, but it was the Devils who entered halftime with a 44-35 lead. Senior Darren Davy led all scorers with 13 points in the stanza, while Mitchell chipped in 11.

The two sides traded baskets opening the second half, but an 11-4 Manhattanville spurt trimmed the lead to just two points. Sophomore Shawn Smith registered a layup before Davy hit two from the free throw line to reestablish a six-point margin with 14:33 remaining in the half. An 8-0 Valiants rally pushed the hosts in front with just under 11 minutes left; however, Mitchell knocked down a jumper from Smith to level the game back at 60.

The hosts used the next 3:10 to embark on a 10-0 run before Fleurantin hit from deep to end the rally. That bucket helped kick-start a Devils comeback hope, as the team would net the next seven points. The teams would once again exchange points before Mitchell and Christie scored 34 seconds apart to get the Devils back to within a point.

Manhattanville nabbed an offensive rebound off a miss and got the put-back to go back up three, and after a Devils miss, a three-pointer the other way quickly turned into a six-point deficit for the Devils with 1:06 remaining. An offensive foul led to Mitchell knocking down a pair from the charity stripe, and the senior hit a three with five seconds left to shrink the deficit to 79-78. After a foul was called, the Valiants missed the front end of a one-and-one, but FDU was unable to get a shot off for the win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
•    Mitchell led the Devils with 22 points, while Davy tallied 17 points and six rebounds.
•    Fleurantin notched 10 points, seven rebounds, and six helpers.
•    Smith filled the stat sheet with nine assists, eight points, and six rebounds. The nine helpers were a season-best for the guard.
•    Christie matched his season-high with 11 points.
•    As a unit, the team dispensed 23 assists, the most in a game this season.
•    The Devils shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the line, the third time this season they did not miss a free throw.

UP NEXT
The Devils will honor seniors Christie, Davy, Mitchell, and Eric Ray in a pregame ceremony Saturday prior to the 3 p.m. contest against Wilkes.