MADISON, N.J. – The FDU-Florham men's basketball team topped Delaware Valley 81-73 behind 17-point performances from Mac Creek and Chris Smith to help the Devils to their first MAC Freedom win of the season Wednesday night at home. 
 
DEVILS HIGHLIGHTS

• Creek added six rebounds and 10 assists for his first double-double of the season and finished 5-for-12 from the field along with a 3-for-6 performance from long range. 
• Smith finished the night 7-for-12 from the field and just one rebound shy of his second double-double of the year. 
• Gino Romano tallied 14 points on 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and 2-of-4 from the stripe. 
• Frankie Denvir rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points on 2-of-7 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line.  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Devils got on the board first as Creek scored the first points of Tuesday's contest with a fast break layup at the 18:59 mark. 
• Four straight points from the Devils put FDU ahead 17-10 with 8:12 remaining, but then six straight FDU points capped off by a trey from Romano put the Devils up 26-19 with just 3:00 remaining in the first half. 
• The Aggies answered back and cut the FDU lead to four by the end of the first half as JT Wright connected on a triple followed by a buzzer-beating layup from Brendon Johnson to send the squads into the locker room with FDU leading 30-26. 
• The Devils came out of the break hot as FDU used an 11-5 run highlighted by back-to-back-back treys from Creek to extend the lead to 41-31 with 16:22 to play. 
• The Aggies answered back once again as consecutive threes and an and-one layup knotted the game 43 apiece at the 13:36 time stamp. 
• Delaware Valley took a 48-47 lead with 12:12 left to play, the team's first lead since leading 6-5 at the 15:27 mark in the first half. 
• From the 11:32 mark to the 7:09 mark, there were five separate ties, but after Romano was fouled and drained the ensuing free throws to put FDU up 60-58, the Devils never trailed for the remainder of the game. 
• After Romano's two made free throws, the Devils used a 15-5 jolt highlighted by two treys from Romano to take a 75-63 lead with 2:39 left in regulation. 
• Twice in the final 2:00, the Aggies cut the FDU lead to six, but the two-possession lead held strong and FDU came away with the eight-point victory. 

GAME NOTES

• Creek's double-double was the fifth for the Devils this season and first with double figure assists. 
• Creek's 10 assists are the first time a Devils player finished with 10 or more since Carson Woods tallied 11 against Stevens on Feb. 1, 2023. 
• Smith has recorded double digit points in 13 of FDU's 14 games this year. 
• Romano's four threes were the ninth instance of a Devils player hitting four or more threes in a game this season. 
• Wednesday's win over Delaware Valley was FDU's first win at home over the Aggies since Feb. 15, 2020, when the Devils won 83-71.

UP NEXT
The Devils return to action on Saturday, Jan. 17 as FDU heads to Dallas, Pa. for a bout with Misericordia. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.
 
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