Box Score MADISON, N.J. – The Manhattanville men's basketball team missed some opportunities late in the game and also did not get the benefit of many close calls down the stretch as the Valiants came up just short to FDU-Florham, 72-69, in a tough Freedom Conference battle on Wednesday night at the Ferguson Recreation Center.

Will Green came up big to lead FDU-Florham (7-7, 2-1 Freedom), pacing all scorers with 21 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Four Devils reached double figures as the starting five combined for 66 of the team's 72 points, with Kevin Furlong adding 16 points and Trevor Sykes chipping in 15 as well for the home team.

Senior Jack Bramswig (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville) had a team-leading 19 points for Manhattanville (5-9, 1-2 Freedom), moving him to within 17 points of the 1,000-point mark for his career. Classmate Colin Campbell (Miami, Fla./LaSalle) and sophomore Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy) added 12 points each for the Valiants as well.

After a first half that saw five different lead changes, Green matched a Bramswig layup to start the second half and the Devils held onto that advantage, growing the lead to as many as 10 with 14:08 left. The home team still looked to be in control up six at 67-61 with 1:41 left left to go, but one thing that kept Manhattanville in the game was FDU's inability to hit a free throw: the Devils hit only five of their final 19 attempts from the line over the final 6:26, including 11 misfires in the final 79 seconds alone.

Thanks in part to that poor shooting, a layup by Bramswig made it a one-possession game (69-66) with 35 ticks remaining, and a clutch three-point play from Campbell actually got the visitors back within a point at 70-69 with eight seconds left. Furlong made one-of-two from the line at the other end to make it a two-point game with the Valiants in possession of the ball, but Campbell was whistled for a dubious offensive foul going to the basket that allowed the Devils to regain possession and eventually escape with the win.

The Valiants finished the night shooting an even 40.0 percent (28 of 70) from the field, while FDU-Florham made the same amount of field goals on 10 fewer attempts (46.7 percent) to help counteract a 12-of-27 showing (44.4 percent) from the line.

Manhattanville will play its first game at Kennedy Gym in nearly a month on Saturday afternoon, as the Valiants host Wilkes in a Freedom Conference contest beginning at 3 p.m.