CENTER VALLEY, Pa. (January 8, 2020) - The Devils men's basketball squad opened up Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom play on Wednesday evening, as they visited DeSales University. The Bulldogs picked up the 78-64 victory, as they improve to 8-4 on the season, and 1-0 in MAC Freedom play. With the loss, the Devils fall to 5-7 overall and 0-1 in conference games.
 
In the first half of the game, the Devils were dynamic from behind the arc, as they used the '3-ball' to take the early lead. Junior Oliver Ortman opened the contest by responding to the back-to-back Bulldog baskets with two of his own. At the 17:58 mark, the junior put the Devils on the board with a layup. Less than a minute later, Ortman executed off of a pass from senior Andy Fleurantin for the made three-point field goal. Ortman contributed to the next made Devils score, as he assisted to freshman Andrew Schulz, who knocked down a three-pointer of his own. Fleurantin got into the scoring column for FDU, as he knocked down a layup. Trailing 19-14, Fleurantin knocked down a three-pointer off of an assist from freshman Joseph Nigro, cutting the Bulldogs lead to 19-17. Following a made three-pointer from DeSales, Fleurantin came up clutch was once more for FDU, hitting another shot from deep, this time off of a pass from Ortman, to cut the DU lead back to two. With the ball back in their control, Fleurantin returned the favor to Ortman, as the junior added another three-pointer to his total, giving the Devils its first lead of the game at 23-22. 
 
After a few made baskets, DeSales regained control of the game, as they led 29-26. The Devils continued to claw back anytime DeSales attempted to pull away, as senior Kenneth LaRocca connected off of a pass from classmate Fleurantin for another Devils made three-pointer. Trailing 31-29 with one minute remaining in the half, Nigro gave control back to the Devils, as he knocked down a three-pointer of his own, to put the Devils in the drivers' seat at 32-31. FDU would not relinquish its lead, as they used baskets from Fleurantin and Schulz to go into the halftime break with a 36-31 lead. 
 
LaRocca spearheaded the Devils scoring efforts in the second frame, as he netted a jumper at the 19:30 mark. LaRocca would then go on to account for eight of FDU's next 12 points. After an offensive spurt by the Bulldogs, the Devils found themselves trailing by a score of 53-50. LaRocca continued his offensive outburst, as he made a jumper, to cut the DU lead to 53-52. Trailing 57-52, the Devils continued to chip away at the DU lead, as Fleurantin added yet another three-pointer to his total. 
 
With one minute left in the game, freshman John Bennett joined the long list of Devils with a made three-point basket, as he added a one of his own. DeSales continued to tack on points, as they extended their lead to 78-64, to secure the victory.
 
3's Company
The Devils bested DeSales from long range, as they shot 37.5% from three-point territory, compared to the Bulldogs 36.4%. Six different Devils knocked down three-pointers, as they totaled 12 in the game. Fleurantin led all Devils with four three-pointers. 
 
In the first half, the Devils added eight three-point field goals, for a total of 24 points from behind the arc. 
 
LEAD DEVILS
Fleurantin led all FDU point scorers with 18, followed by Ortman with 16 points, and LaRocca with 15 points. 
 
FROM THE HEAD COACH
"Tale of two halves - one of our best all year followed up by one of our worst. Most disappointed with our attention to detail about the things that we said were the most important pieces to winning a road game in league play." -  Head Coach Jeff Slanovec 
 
UP NEXT
FDU returns to the court in just a few days as they resume MAC-Freedom action and visit Misericordia on Saturday. The Devils and Cougars are scheduled to tipoff at 3 pm.