Adefemi’s Two Free Throws Seal Devils Second Straight Win

Adewale Adefemihit two free throws with 7.6 seconds remaining broke a 49-49 tie and stood as the winning points as the University of the Sciences men's basketball team won their second straight game, defeating Bloomsburg University 51-49 Tuesday night at the Bobby Morgan Arena. 

The Devils improve to 2-1 with the win and now have defeated two Pennsylvania State Athletic conference (PSAC) opponents in November for the first time since the 2007-08 season.  Bloomsburg falls to 1-3. 

Posting a 25-22 lead at the break,  a Henry Messinger slam widened the margin to 34-28 at the 15:51 mark.  Adefemi's slam at the 12:43 mark kept the margin at six 38-32 before two straight 'threes' from Bloomsburg knotted the game at 38-38. USciences maintained a modest advantage over the next five minutes until the Huskies strung together seven straight to flip a 44-40 deficit into a 47-44 lead with 3:47 remaining. The Devils answered with five straight to move back in front at 49-47 with 46 ticks to go but a jumper by BU's Dontahe Jordan  tied things up for the final time with 28 seconds on the clock, setting up Adefemi's heroics as he was fouled pulling down an offensive rebound.  Jesse Betar's three point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark and the devils hung on for the win. 

In the opening stanza, the Devils were bedeviled early on, falling behind 19-10 before riding a 15-3 crest over the final 6:39 of the half to take a   25-22 lead into the locker room.  A three-point field goal from Tyrone Mann-Barnes and a traditional three-point play by Messinger shaved six-points off the lead in a little less than two minutes time.  Two more free throws by Messinger were followed by an Adefemi layup and the Devils were within two, 22-20.  Will Kernan's '3-ball gave the devils their first lead since the 14:36 mark of the period and Patrick Connaghan had a tip-in at the buzzer to make the score 25-22 at the break. 

Kernan was game-high scorer with 12 points and three steals while playing all 40 minutes. Adefemi's final line showed seven points, eight boards and four assists, also without a breather.  Henry Messinger came off the bench to add nine points while his older brother Myer, had seven points and seven rebounds.   Mann-Barnes and Connaghan had eight points apiece. 

Trevon Johnson and Lorenzo Christmas led the Huskies with 11 points apiece.  The Huskies shot better (44.4% to 37.5%) but the Devils scored twice as much from the charity stripe (11-17 to 5-7).  Rebounding was nearly even 30-29 in favor of the Devils) and neither team did a great job of protecting the ball, combining for 38 turnovers (18 by USciences). 

The Devils return to action on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 when they host East Stroudsburg University, their fourth straight PSAC opponent at the Bobby Morgan Arena.   Tip off is set for 8:00 p.m.