MADISON, NJ–On Tuesday night, GMC Hoops traveled through the stormy weather to the Morristown area to see Drew and FDU-Florham go at it in the latest installment of the Battle of Madison Avenue.
The Devils, who feature two former GMC players in South Amboy’s Steve Herdman and J.F. Kennedy’s Joe Duffy raced out to a 17-4 lead and took a 35-19 lead into the locker room. FDU Florham increased its lead to 21 in the second half on dunks by Donte Ali and Veon Lassiter, and withstood a late Drew rally for a 72-64 victory.
Riley Collins led all scorers with 21 points for Drew while Herdman led FDU-Florham with 20 points on 6 of 13 shooting from the floor and 8 of 8 from the line along with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Herdman scored 14 of his points in the second half. Below are game notes from the action:
First Half
19:11–FDU_F–takes 3-0 lead on a three by Mitchell.
18:09–DREW–scores on jumper in the paint by Nate Aldridge for a 3-2 FDU lead.
17:33–FDU_F–takes a 5-2 lead on a steal for layup by Mitchell.
16:54–FDU_F–goes up 7-2 on a score down low by Darren Davy.
16:05–DREW–transition layup for a 7-4 FDU lead.
15:54–FDU–Mitchell layup for a 9-4 lead.
12:08–FDU_F–30 second timeout after an earlier score for an 11-4 lead.
11:48–FDU_F–Donte Ali feeds Veon Lassiter for layup and a 13-4 lead.
11:14–FDU_F–Ali scores on layup for a 15-4 lead.
10:30–FDU_F–Raajon Dixon scores on layup for a 17-4 lead.
10:05–DREW–Aldrich fouled and makes 1 of 2 FTs for a 17-5 FDU lead.
9:28–DREW–three pointer by Riley Collins closes the gap to 17-8.
5:58–FDU_F–8-0 run highlighted by a three by Mitchell, a bucket by Davy, and 1 of 2 FTs by Lassiter for a 25-8 lead.
5:22–DREW–fouled–makes FT–technical foul on DREW–Herdman makes both FTs for FDU_F, which now leads 27-9.
3:43–DREW–timeout after FDU_F scores on Lassiter layup off lob from Herdman for a 29-11 lead.
0:00–FDU_F–scores on putback to end the first half with a 35-19 lead. Score ended an 8-4 DREW run. Herdman scored all 4 points for FDU_F during stretch.
Second Half
17:28–DREW–scores and the foul to end a 4-2 FDU_F start for a 39-23 FDU_F lead. Herdman layup for FDU_F.
16:43–FDU_F–Mitchell basket for a 41-23 lead.
16:21–FDU_F–steal for layup by Herdman for a 43-23 lead.
15:00–FDU_F–putback by Davy for a 43-25 lead.
12:40–DREW–scores for a 4-3 run and a 46-29 FDU_F lead. Ali had a two handed jam earlier.
10:20–FDU_F–Herdman scores on a layup from the right side after DREW scored four straight points on back to back layups. FDU_F leads 48-33.
7:36–DREW–calls timeout after an earlier dunk by Lassiter gives FDU_F a 52-36 lead.
6:34–FDU_F now leads 59-38 after a 7-2 run that included 4 of 4 FTs by Herdman for a 59-38 lead.
5:00–DREW–layup for a 5-3 run to close the gap to 62-43. Lassiter putback moments earlier for FDU.
1:53–DREW–layup caps a 9-4 run for a 66-53 FDU lead.
1:45–DREW–timeout
58.4–DREW–timeout–after steal for layup and jumper closes gap to 66-57.
57.0–FDU_F–Ali fouled and makes both FTs for a 68-57 lead.
38.0–DREW–layup for a 68-59 FDU lead.
35.0–FDU_F–Herdman fouled and makes both FTs for a 70-59 lead.
2.9–DREW–three point play by Darius Reiter closes gap to 72-64. Rangers scored 5 of last 7 points.
0.0–FDU_F–inbounds the ball to run out the clock for the 72-64 win.