MADISON, NJ (March 12, 2021)- On Friday evening, FDU Men's Basketball traveled to Delaware Valley University, dropping a tightly contested game, 64-49. With the loss, the Devils fall to 0-6 on the season while the Aggies improve to 4-5.

First Half
A back and forth game from the start, each team exchanged baskets through the first two-minutes of play. Sophomore, Tommy Drubulis got it started for FDU with a basket in the paint, followed by a three-pointer from sophomore, Derrick Whitaker. Sophomore, Joseph Nigro got in on the action at 17:17, with a three of his own, giving the Devils an early 8-5 advantage. Another Nigro triple one-minute later would extend the FDU lead to six, 11-5, at the 16:16 mark. Del Val responded with two, before senior, Oliver Ortman knocked down a pair from the line, keeping the lead at six. That lead would extend to nine at 14:28, thanks to a Whitaker basket off an assist from first-year, Matthew Johnson. Seconds later, Johnson would get on the scoresheet himself after the Aggies hit from three. Johnson continued his hot shooting, this time from beyond the arc at 11:52, keeping the FDU advantage at eight, 21-13.

A run from Delaware Valley tied the game at 21 with 10:11 remaining. The run for Del Val extended to 12 straight points before ending at the hands of Ortman from three. Down one with 4:50 left, Oli hit from the free throw line to knot the game at 25-25. A Whitaker three at 3:13, gave the Devils the lead again, 28-27, but the scoring continued. Del Val outscored FDU narrowly down the stretch, 32-31, holding that advantage at the break.

Second Half
The second 20-minutes started where the first left off, with back-to-back buckets for both teams. Del Val from in the paint and FDU from Whitaker from beyond the arc. Johnson would take over for the Devils, scoring nine straight points and helping regain the FDU advantage, 44-38, at the 12:37 mark. After an Aggie run that saw them take the lead, 46-44, Ortman responded to tie the game at 46. Another Ortman bucket game the Devils another lead, 48-46, before Del Val took over. Scoring eight straight points to build a 56-48 advantage, Delaware Valley finished the second half scoring 15 of the game's final 16 points to complete the 64-49 victory.

Lead Devil
Johnson led the way for FDU, scoring 16-points on 6-of-10 (60%) from the field.

Double Figures
Ortman and Whitaker both finished in double figures, with Oli scoring 13-points and adding four assists, and Whit finishing with 12-points.

Career High
Nigro brought down a career high 13 rebounds on the night. His previous career high for rebounds was nine in January 2020.

Hot Potato
All-in-all, there were eight lead changes in the contest with each team holding the games advantage four times.

Coaches Thoughts
"Unbelievable effort from our guys. Nobody is happy. Nobody is satisfied. But we got better today and we got better this week. Everyone else is going to look at results only. Internally, we just need to keep getting better every day and fall in love with the process of learning how to win."- Head Coach, Jeff Slanovec

Next Up
The Devils finish the 2021 campaign at Wilkes University on Monday, March 15 at 7:00pm.