Mann-Barnes Hit 'Three' at Buzzer to Give Devils a Win

Tyrone Mann-Barnes hit an NBA three point shot at the buzzer to give the University of the Sciences men's basketball team a 56-54 win over previously unbeaten East Stroudsburg University Tuesday night at the Bobby Morgan Arena

The Devils improve to 3-1 overall.  East Stroudsburg falls to 2-1.  The win was only the second time that the Devils have defeated the Warriors with their last victory coming at home on November 15, 2004, with a 66-59 score.  It was also back in that same 2004-2005 season that the Devils last won a game with a buzzer beater, a March Madness moment if you will, beating Holy Family University on their home court 70-68 in the quarterfinals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate conference playoffs on March 1, 2005 with a put-back at the buzzer by Eric Cangelosi.

Mann-Barnes finished the game with 22 points on 8-9 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the three-point range. The freshman and former Collingswood High School athlete scored 13 of his points in the second half, connecting on all five shots from the field including three three-pointers.  His perfect 6-for-6 performance from beyond the arc is a school record for three-point field goal percentage.   Adewale Adefemi added 14 points, ten in the second half, and Myer Messinger had 12.

Micah Covert and Mike Tobin each had eight points to pace the Warriors.

Despite a 50% shooting effort in the first half (9-18), the Devils found themselves on the short end of a 35-24 score as the Warriors scored ten points off of eight Sciences' turnovers while making five more field goals and twice as many three-pointers (6-3).  A Terrance King basket to open the second half boosted ESU's lead to 13, 37-24 before the Devils rallied, outscoring the Warriors 16-3 over the next 6:56 to tie the game at 40-40.  Mann-Barnes started things off with - what else- a three-point field goal, followed by an Adefemi dunk and a Will Kernan layup, cutting the deficit to six 37-31.  Both teams exchanged baskets and Tobin followed with a single free throw to boost ESU's lead back to seven.  Sciences then scored the next seven points, capped by a long 3-ball by Mann-Barnes, knotting things at 40-all with 12:42 left.

Marcus Brown's 'trey gave the Warriors a three-point advantage again, 43-40, but the Devils hung tough, setting the pace and playing good defense. Messinger's layup at the 7:04 mark tied things up again at 45-45. Neither team scored again until Adefemi connected on two free throws with 5:22 left to give the Devils their first lead since the score was 6-5 in the first half.  Russell Graham III followed with a three-pointer to put the Warriors back on top 48-47.  A layup by Adefemi, a defensive stop and two free throws from Kernan gave the Devils their largest lead of the game, three points 51-48 with 3:09 left. Covert brought the Warriors back within one with a pair of free throws, 51-50 and ESU had a chance to take the lead but Tobin missed both free throws (his 4th and 5th straight miss).  meanwhile Adefemi connected on his fourth straight free throw to put the Devils back up by three 53-50 with 1:47 left.  A layup by Graham with 1:23 left made the score 53-52.  The Devils then turned it over giving ESu a shot to retake the lead.  Mike DeMarco did miss a  three-point attempt but Tobin grabbed the rebound.  After ESU used up their final timeout Terrance King freed himself up underneath and made a layup to put ESU ahead 54-53 with 4.3 ticks left on the clock.  Mann-Barnes then took the inbounds pass from Kernan,, dribbled up the right side of the floor an launched a 25 foot jumper that hit nothing but net at the buzzer, giving the Devils the win.

Sciences connected on 11 of 19 shots from the field in the second half and finished the game shooting 54.1% (20-37).  The Warriors, made just six of 20 shots in the final 20 minutes and finished the game shooting 41.7% (20-48).  The Devils were slightly better at the foul line (10-18 to 6-12), especially in the final five minutes, making six straight free throws while the Warriors made just two of four over the same stretch.  ESU had a slight edge on the glass, 29-24 and committed two fewer turnovers (19-21).

The Devils return to action on Saturday, December 4, 2010 when they host Kutztown University in their final home game of the fall semester.  The game will start around 3:30 p.m. after the Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.