With the loss, the Devils dropped to 13-6 (5-3 Freedom Conference).
The Warriors came out hot to start the game, opening with a 17-5 lead with 12:53 left in the first half. Junior guard David Wilson (Pottsville, PA/Pottsville) had seven points in the spurt. The Devils cut the deficit to five points, 26-21, with 4:52 left in the half. Senior guard Brian Dillon (West Orange, NJ/West Orange) put in five points as the Devils closed the gap. FDU couldn’t pull any closer in the first half as Lycoming responded with a 7-2 run to put their lead back to double digits, 33-23. Lycoming took a 37-29 halftime advantage.
The Devils opened the second half and again closed to within five points, 37-32, after senior center Brian Rimol (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) opened with three quick points. However, Lycoming responded right back to get their lead back up to nine points, 49-40, with 13:28 left in the game. FDU cut the deficit to six points, 53-47, just three minutes later but the Warriors responded with a 12-4 run to increase their advantage to 65-51 with 6:30 left. The Devils had one more push left in them though and went on a 12-3 run over the next four minutes to get to within 68-63. Senior guard Frank Emslie (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan) had seven points in the spurt. Just like they had all game, Lycoming responded when the hit 14-of-20 from the foul line to keep FDU at arms length and get the win, 82-75.
“We got off to a slow start today, and we were fighting uphill all game,” said assistant coach Bill Zotti. “We did a poor job defensively and were out-hustled all day. We have to get back to basics on the defensive end of the floor and execute better offensively in order to finish the season strong.”
Senior forward Pierre Schmitt (Park Ridge, NJ/Park Ridge) led FDU with 16 points and nine rebounds while Rimol finished with 12 points and nine boards. Emslie had 14 points and six boards and Dillon had 16 points and seven assists. Wilson finished with 13 points for Lycoming while junior guard Kevin Morris (Camp Hill, PA/Trinity Catholic) had 15 points. Sophomore guard Jemayne Nowlin (Gaithersburg, MD/Quince Orchard) came off the bench for 14 points and six rebounds and sophomore guard Anthony Watson (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Carroll) had 12 points.
The Devils return to action on Tuesday, January 30, 2007, at home against Delaware Valley beginning at 8 pm.