Scranton, Pa. (November 10) - The FDU-Florham men's basketball team traveled to compete in the Hilton Scranton Invitational where they were topped by Scranton, 56-69.
The Devils were led by Christopher Smith (Florham Park, N.J.) who registered a career high 17 points, while
Carson Woods (Phoenix, AZ) tallied 12 points to follow.
Michael Dabas (Middletown, NJ) led the team defensively, totaling ten rebounds on the night. Scranton had three of their players reach double digits in points. Jon Spatola led the Royals with 17 points for the night.
Scranton took to a 4-0 lead early before a layup from Woods cut the lead and sparked an 11-9 run for FDU that allowed them to take the lead, 13-12. This run included baskets from Smith
, Woods, Jamal Santana (Randolph, NJ),
and a three-pointer from James Zingaro (Stratford, NJ).
The Royals tied the game, 16-16, at the 13:52 timestamp in the first half. They held the advantage for the remainder of the half, but not without the Devils attempting to crawl back.
Scranton opened the second half with a successful three-pointer from Jon Spatola making the score 44-32. Despite the FDU going on a six-point run in the second half, they were unable to catch up to the Royals. Ultimately, Scranton topped the Devils, making the final score 69-56.
As a team, FDU-Florham shot 45.1 percent (23 for 51) from the floor, 26.7% percent (4 for 15) from the three-point range, and 75 percent (6 for 8) from the free-throw line. The Devils tallied 36 points in the paint, 17 points off the bench, and 7 points off turnovers.
Scranton shot 46.6 percent (27 for 58) from the floor, 23.1 percent (6 for 26) from the three-point range, and 56.3 percent (9 for 16) from the free-throw line. They totaled 42 points in the paint, 11 points off the bench, and 15 points off turnovers.
FDU-Florham will now play in the consolation game against Marywood at the Hilton Scranton Invitational on November 11, at 2:00 pm.
