College Hoops Summary–November 30, 2011–DeSales @ FDU-Florham

Former Ahr Standout Williamson Scores 16 Off Bench To Help FDU-Florham Down Conference Rival, 68-51

MADISON, NJ–On Wednesday night, GMC Hoops continued its 2011 college hoops tour with a trip up Interstate 287 North to the Morristown area to see FDU-Florham in action against DeSales University in a Freedom Conference battle.   This was the conference opener for both teams with the FDU Devils coming in at 0-3 while the DeSales Bulldogs were 2-2.  Both teams lost their most recent games with FDU-Florham falling to William Paterson on Saturday (67-54) while DeSales lost to Moravian (72-63) last week.

There are two GMC players on the roster for the Devils.  Former standout, Mike Williamson (16 points on 6 FGs including 4 of 6 from three) of Bishop Ahr is a junior at FDU while North Brunswick’s Mark Gibson is a sophomore.  Other local area players competing in this contest are Alex Rosario (Bound Brook), Will Green (Cranford), and Brian Kerwin (Immaculata).  Rosario and Green (20 points and 17 rebounds) play for FDU while Kerwin plays for DeSales.  Green leads the Devils with 12.7 points per game while grabbing 7.7 rebounds per contest.

Prior to the start of this contest, both schools had their women’s teams square off as the first half of a doubleheader.  GMC Hoops arrived at about the start of the second half of the women’s game, which was quite a competitive one.  DeSales led by eight points at 44-36 just a little more than midway through the second half.  Over the next two and a half minutes, the visitors from Pennsylvania scored the only three points in the stretch including a putback following a nice block by FDU for a 47-36 lead as the Lady Devils called for time with 7:16 left.

Trailing 47-37 with 5:15 left, the Lady Devils tried to make a run with a basket at the 5:11 mark, and then two free throws at the 4:54 mark to close the gap to 47-41, but couldn’t get any closer.  DeSales closed the game with a 13-5 spurt including a key three point play at the 4:18 mark to finish off the 60-46 victory.  Returning to the men’s game, FDU-Florham was getting use to life without standout player Ricky Fetske, who graduated this past spring.  Helping to lead the way for FDU is Adam Katz (11 points and 4 assists), who on November 15th against Brooklyn, became the 28th player in school history to score 1,000 points.

The Devils got off to a quick start by scoring six of the first eight points.  FDU-Florham hit two of its first three shots from the floor while DeSales committed three turnovers, and didn’t get on the board until the 17:11 mark of the opening half.  Green, Ardell Roberts (4 points, 3 steals, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists), and Andrew Stress (4 points and 2 assists) accounted for the FDU scoring.   The Bulldogs would bounce back though with five straight points including the first of three treys for a 7-6 lead at the 16 minute mark.  The pendulum then swung back in FDU’s favor as the Devils scored the next four points including a jumper by Roberts for a 10-7 advantage.

DeSales took the lead back again with two three pointers for a 13-10 lead, but Williamson netted a trey from the left corner midway through the half to even things up at 13-13.  At the 9:17 mark, FDU took a 15-13 lead, and held the edge for the next 5:10 thanks to a 10-3 spurt.  Derek Hall (7 points and 2 rebounds) contributed with a basket as he was fouled at the 7:16 mark, and then Stress made two free throws at the 5:14 mark before Hall scored underneath with 5:05 to go in the half.  The Devils had a chance to go up further, but the Bulldogs drew a charge on a driving Katz.

FDU-Florham finished the half with a 6-4 run to take a 29-20 lead at the intermission.  Williamson connected on another jumper during the run to end up with 5 points in the half.  DeSales added another trey to end up with four n the first half.  The Bulldogs outscored the Devils by a 12-3 margin from beyond the arc.  There were four lead changes and a tie in the first 20 minutes while FDU-Florham held the biggest lead at 9 points.  The Devils closed the half with a 19-7 tear.

After the Bulldogs opened the half with a score in the key, Katz got his first points of the game when he drained an off-balanced three at the 19:13 mark for a 32-22 FDU-Florham lead.  DeSales charged back with the next five points including three foul shots at the 16:47 mark for a 32-27 Devils lead before Green converted a three point play at the 16:32 mark for an eight point advantage.  Following an FDU timeout, DeSales got back within six when it scored in the paint off a nice entry pass at the 15:14 mark.  A little more than a minute later, Katz answered with a trey from the right wing for a 38-29 advantage at the 14 minute mark.

The Bulldogs climbed to within four at 38-34 before FDU went on an 11-3 spurt that included eight points from Williamson.  The Piscataway native, who had a steal for a layup, also connected on two treys including one at the 9:34 mark for a 49-34 lead while Katz added one of his own.   Williamson, who was feeling it, then connected on another trey at the 8:46 mark for a 52-34 lead as the crowd roared its approval.  The Devils added a putback to make it a 16-0 surge, and a 54-34 lead.  

From there, FDU-Florham led by as many as 24 en route to a 68-51 victory.  Williamson ended up with 16 points on six field goals including four threes.  The former Ahr standout scored 11 points in the second half. Read the article on this game as well as the box score and play-by-play courtesy of the FDU-Florham athletic department web site.