Devils Fall to Warriors

The University of the Sciences men's basketball team dropped their fifth straight contest Monday night, losing to East Stroudsburg University 79-65 at ESU's Koehler Fieldhouse. 

The Devils fall to 1-7 while ESU improves to 7-5. 

Garret Kerr recorded his second consecutive double-double, pouring in 20 points (7-11 FG, 5-8 FT) and 15 rebounds.  The freshman forward also dished out a team high six assists.  Alec McClure was the only other player in double figures, coming off the bench to score 11 points. 

Terrance King led the Warriors with 16 points and 11 rebounds.  Russell Graham III added 14 and Whis Grant had 10.  Graham led all players with eight assists. 

Solid first half shooting kept the Devils close in the first half.  Sciences led 16-14 when the Warriors went on a 10-0 tear to take a 24-16 lead midway through the period.  The Devils fought back with a 16-8 uprising, connecting on six of eight shots from the field to tie the game at 32-32 with 3:09 left.   Tyrone Mann-Barnes had five of his seven points in the game during this run and it was McClure's '3-ball' that knotted the score.  ESU pulled ahead by four late in the half before the Devils whittled the margin to one 38-37 at the break.  Sciences shot 72.7% (16-22) from the field in the period. 

Pressure defense got the better of the Devils as the second half started with the Warriors putting 13 straight points on the board to start the period and take a 51-37 lead before two McClure free throws got the Devils on the board in the period.  The Devils were held without a field until the 10:22 mark when Myer Messinger sank a jumper, ending a 19-4 ESU spurt.  ESU added a 9-3 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 66-46 with 5:59 left and the Devils could get no closer than 14 the rest of the way. 

For the game, the Devils shot 50% for the game (24-48) while ESU shot 47.4% (27-57).  The Warriors held a 37-27 edge on the glass.  ESU made more free throws (20-32) than the Devils (14-21) and the Devils were again plagued by turnovers, committing 19 (12 assists) to ESU's 14 (20 assists). 

The Devils return to action on December 30, 2011 when they travel to Kutztown University for a non-league contest