Warriors Nip Devils in Final Seconds

Brian Roberts' layup with 27 seconds left was the difference as the Nyack College Warriors pulled out a 60-59 victory over the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference men's basketball game at the Bobby Morgan Arena in Philadelphia.

The loss drops the Devils record 9-7 overall and 7-4 in league play, moving USP into a tie for third place with Holy Family University with identical 7-4 league records. Nyack improves to 4-13 overall and 3-7 in league play.

William Kurtz (Sr., Shawnee HS/Shamong, N.J.) led all scorers with 23 points, making seven three-point field goals for the second consecutive game and the third time in four games. Kurtz was one of four USP players to reach double figures as Howard Lanier (Jr., St. Augustine Prep/ Sicklerville, N.J.) (13 points, 4 assists); Eric Cangelosi (Sr., Camden Catholic HS/Haddon Heights, N.J.) (10 points); and Keith Dundas (Jr., Pennsbury HS/Morrisville, Pa.) (10 points, 4-4 FG) joined him. Dundas paced the Devils with four rebounds.

John Van Dunk led the Warriors with 14 points while Mickell Vickers added 12. Nyack also had a trio of players with nine points (Roberts, Sheanan Martinez and Josh Pust). Martinez led Nyack with six rebounds.

The Devils jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the opening minutes courtesy of two 'treys' by Kurtz, another by Dundas and a short jumper by Cangelosi. USP still led by 10, 23-13 when the Warriors scored nine straight points to pull within one, 23-22 with 4:32 left, with Van Dunk getting six of the nine points. Three minutes later, Nyack tied the game at 27-all before the Devils closed out the half with a 6-1 spurt to go up by five at the break 33-28.

The Devils opened the second half with seven straight points to boost their lead back up to 12, 40-28 at the 15:53 mark. Kurtz started things off with a '3ball' from the left side followed by layups by Cangelosi and Lanier. The Devils led 42-30 when Nyack went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to two, 42-40 with 12:59 left with Pust hitting two 'threes' in a row to cap the run. A three-pointer by Lanier boosted the lead back to five 45-40 and Cangelosi made it a seven-point margin 47-40. Nyack's Josh Tate followed with a jumper and Cangelosi added a pair of free throws to make the score 49-42 with 10:07 left in the game.

Nyack then went on a 12-3 run to take their first lead of the game 54-52 with just 4:32 left as the Devils managed just three field goal attempts (one made) over the 5:35 span of the run. Kurtz countered with his sixth 'three' of the game to give the Devils a one point lead 55-54 with 4:07 left. Martinez and Van Dunk added baskets and Nyack had a three point lead, 58-55 with just 2:25 to go. Lanier made one of two free throws and Kurtz connected on his final '3ball' of the game to give USP a one point lead 59-58 with 41 seconds left. Nyack then worked the ball inside to Roberts for the layup with 27 seconds left which proved to be the game winner. Two shot opportunities for the Devils fell short in the waning seconds as Nyack held on for the one-point win.

For the game, Nyack shot 48.9% (23-47) from the field including a stellar 59.1% effort (13-22) in the second half. The Devils made 21 of 44 shots (47.7%) but made just eight of 19 shots in the final 20 minutes (42.1%). Nyack held a 30-22 advantage on the boards which helped offset the Devils hot shooting from beyond the arc (10-20, 50%).

The Devils will see their next action on Wednesday, January 24, 2007 when they take on Wilmington College at the Bobby Morgan Arena. Tip off is set for 8 p.m.