MADISON, NJ — The FDU-Florham Devils beat the Wilkes Colonels 62-60. FDU improves to 10-10 overall and 5-5 in the Freedom Conference. Wilkes drops to 12-7 and 5-4 in the Freedom.
Wilkes came into the game in fourth place in the conference.
After trailing for 8:38 mark on in the second half, the Devils regained the lead for good when a steal by FDU freshman guard Frank Emslie (Hazlet, NJ) led to a fastbreak layup by sophomore guard Nate Lawrence (Willingboro, NJ), making the score 59-57 with 2:02 to play.
Wilkes had a chance to tie when Mike Morgan went to the foul line with 1:27 on the clock, but he made one of two, leaving FDU with a 59-58 lead. The Devils extended their lead to 61-58 when junior center Chris Hendershot (Vernon, NJ) put in a layup off an assist from junior forward Jeff Hemschoot (Little Silver, NJ) with 1:21 left to play.
On the next possession, Wilkes cut the FDU lead to a point again when Rashawn Pressley drove through traffic to make a tough layup with 41 seconds remaining.
After a Devils timeout, FDU ran 24 seconds off the clock working for a good shot when Emslie was fouled. He made his first free throw and missed his second, giving FDU a 62-60 lead with 17 seconds left.
Wilkes had difficulty getting an open look at the basket, but Greg Cardamone missed a contested layup with time winding down. FDU sophomore forward Matt Cushing (Ocean, NJ) grabbed the rebound as time expired to seal the win.
The Devils had led by four points at the half, but Wilkes managed to build a five-point lead at two different times in the second half. Neither team led by more than six points during the game.
For FDU, Hendershot scored a team-high 16 points and tied the game high with seven rebounds. Hemschoot added 15 markers and seven boards. Cushing chipped in 12 points.
For Wilkes, Dave Plisko led the way with 16 points, six rebounds, and a team-high four assists. Morgan added 13 points and six boards.
The Devils may have won the game on the offensive boards, as they pulled down 12 offensive rebounds and score 15 second chance points. Wilkes had just six offensive rebounds and just four second chance points.
FDU will play at DeSales on Wednesday, February 11 at 8:00 pm. DeSales was ranked 24th nationally in Division III in the most recent D3hoops.com poll. Going into today’s game, DeSales was in first place in the Freedom Conference with a 7-2 conference record.