MADISON, N.J. – The FDU-Florham men's basketball team won their second straight home game Wednesday evening as the Devils topped Rutgers-Newark 73-69 behind Mac Creek's career-high 27-point performance.
 
DEVILS HIGHLIGHTS

• Creek added to his 27-point ledger with 10 rebounds and one steal. 
• Chris Smith recorded 15 points and seven boards with two assists and two blocks. 
• Frankie Denvir finished with a game-high five assists and added four points and three rebounds. 
• Gino Romano tallied 11 points and was FDU's third player on the night with double figure points. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• FDU trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half as Rutgers-Newark led 13-3 by the 16:12 mark. 
• After still trailing by 10, 24-14, with 8:26 until the break, the Devils used a 9-2 run highlighted by an and-one play from Smith and back-to-back buckets from Denvir and Romano to cut the deficit to 26-23 with 5:58 left in the half. 
• By the 3:55 mark, FDU knotted the game at 29-29 after Creek sunk a trey and a layup on back-to-back possessions, shifting momentum to the Devils for the rest of the half. 
• FDU took a 35-29 lead with 2:15 left as Creek sank his 11^th straight point on another three-ball to cap off an 11-0 Devils run, done all on his own. 
• Despite two late free throws from the Scarlet Raiders, FDU took a 35-32 lead into the break.
• After Creek knotted the game at 29 apiece, FDU never trailed in the second half. Creek put the Devils up by eight with another three-ball as the Devils led 48-40 with 16:07 remaining in the second half. 
• The Scarlet Raiders cut their deficit to 57-54 by the 9:05 mark after a Raheem Murray layup, but a good jumper from O'Malley King put FDU back in front 59-54 with 7:45 to play. 
• The Devils took their largest lead of night after another trey from Creek followed by a made free throw from Noah Pagan made it a 63-54 ball game with 5:10 remaining. 
• With 15 seconds left, Rutgers-Newark made it a one-score game for the first time since the 9:05 time stamp as Ayden Brown hit a three-pointer to cut the FDU lead to 71-68. 
• Following the made three, the Scarlet Raiders were forced to foul and sent Creek to the line who made one of two with seven seconds left to ice the game. 

GAME NOTES

• As a team, FDU went 17-for-24 from the charity stripe. 
• Creek's five-made three pointers marked a new single-game high for the senior.
• This was Smith's fourth straight game tallying double digit points
• Romano's 11 points marked a new career high. 

UP NEXT
The Devils return to the court on Saturday, Nov. 22 as FDU hosts William Paterson for a non-conference matinee. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
 
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