Box Score PURCHASE, N.Y. – FDU-Florham closed the game on a 10-2 run over the final 5:16 to pull away from the Manhattanville men's basketball team and earn a 56-45 Freedom Conference victory over the Valiants in a hard-fought defensive struggle on Wednesday night at Kennedy Gym.
 
It seems like every matchup between the Valiants and Devils comes down to defense, and Wednesday's game was no different as neither team excelled on the offensive end of the court. FDU-Florham won despite being held to 38.2 percent (21 for 55) shooting, thanks in part to a 10-of-12 effort from the charity stripe – all coming in the second half. Manhattanville, meanwhile, was held to 33.9 percent (19 for 56) shooting from the field and also hit just one of its seven free-throw attempts – including missing all five tries in the final 20 minutes.
 
Four Devils reached double figures in the win, led by Trevor Sykes with a game-high 18 points to go with five rebounds and four steals. Will Green and Derek Hall both had 10 points as well, with the two players adding 13 rebounds and 10 rebounds, respectively, to complete their double-doubles.
 
Freshman Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy) was the Valiants' scoring leader on the night with 14 points, followed by junior Jack Bramswig (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville) with a double-double of his own with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The second half featured plenty of strong defense by both teams, as field goals were hard to come by on both ends of the floor. FDU's Kevin Furlong opened the half with a three-pointer to give his team back the lead at 27-25, and the Devils held onto that advantage for nearly six minutes until a layup by junior Mike Murray (Queens, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) made it 41-40 Valiants with 12:15 to go. After two misses by both teams, a Mike Williamson bucket put the Devils back in front at 42-41 with 10:44 to go.
 
At that point the defensive intensity was seemingly increased on nearly every possession. Manhattanville did not manage a point over the next 5:27 of play, missing seven straight shots and turning the ball over twice, and yet remained in the game by holding FDU to just one Hall bucket and a pair of Hall free throws during that span.
 
Maestre finally broke the spell with 5:17 left by sinking a driving layup, but FDU came back down the court and got a bucket from Sykes to regain their five-point edge at 48-43 with 4:24 remaining. The Valiants continued to struggle offensively down the stretch, allowing nearly four more minutes to tick off the clock before Maestre made a layup with 32 seconds left that made it 52-45; yet, by that point the damage had been done and four FDU free throws were enough to seal the win.
 
Manhattanville (7-7, 1-2 Freedom) will look to get back on track this Saturday, as the Valiants travel to Wilkes for a 3 p.m. meeting with the Colonels in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.