The men's basketball team defeated FDU-Florham, 72-60 at the Bast Center on Friday evening. The men improved to 6-2 on the season while the Devils fall to 1-10. It was the second game of the Domino's New Year's Classic. It was the first meeting vs. the school from Madison, NJ.
The men overcame a season-low 50-percent from the free throw line to eventually put the Devils away. The Maroons held them to 31-percent shooting from the floor in the second half including 16 points off turnovers to seal their first win of 2008. It was the first time the Maroons scored over 70 points in five games (11/26 vs. Ferrum).
The game was tight throughout the beginning of the game. The Devils got their fifth and final lead of the game after a tip-in by Ricky Fetske to make it 13-12 with 14:16 remaining in the first half.
A free-throw and back-to-back three-pointers by senior
Ben Shrader guided the Maroons to a six-point lead, 19-13 and wouldn't trail again in the game. He now moves into a three-way tie for third all-time in career three-pointers made (140).
After FDU cut the lead to four, the Maroons went on a 10-3 run late in the half to extend their lead to 11, 36-25. They went into the half with a 38-31 lead.
The Devils hung around, as the Maroons were clinging to a 47-39 lead with 13:48 remaining before head coach Page Moir called timeout to regroup.
After the timeout, senior
Jeff Leiter hit three three-pointers to cap a 15-5 run over the next four minutes to grab their largest lead of the game, 62-44 with 9:21 left. The Maroons would hit cruise control the rest of the way for their second-straight win.
Junior
Curtis Peery led all scorers with 18 points while pulling down 10 rebounds along with three blocked shots to lead the Maroons.
The Maroon bench outscored the Devils, 34-16 led by Leiter who finished with career-highs of 12 points and four three-pointers in just 16 minutes of action. As a team, the Maroons notched season-highs of nine three-pointers, 22 assists and nine blocked shots in the win. They also had a season-low of 11 turnovers.
Senior
AJ Dowell had 10 points for the fifth time this season. He also had five assists, which is the third time this year he has tied his season-high. Fellow senior
Keith Carter had eight points, five assists and a team-high three steals. Junior
Aaron Tyson had a career-high five blocks along with six points and four rebounds.
The men play tomorrow against Ferrum in the championship game at 4 p.m. It will be the second meeting this season against the Panthers, as the Maroons defeated Ferrum, 73-56 at the Roanoke Civic Center on Nov. 26. The Maroons hold a 14-2 record all-time vs. the Panthers, including 10-straight wins since 1991.
