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Center Valley, PA (February 11, 2012) – DSU sophomore Mike Coleman and FDU senior Adam Katz went mono-e-mono on Saturday afternoon combining for 59 of the 117 total points and it was Coleman's pull-up jumper with 8.9 seconds left that stood the tallest as he carried the DeSales University men's basketball team past FDU-Florham, 59-58, in a critical Freedom Conference game on Saturday afternoon in Billera Hall.

Coleman scored DeSales' (14-9, 7-5 Freedom) last 12 points and finished with a career-high 27 tallies, shooting 9-of-11 from both the floor and the free throw line.  Katz finished with 32 points, including 6-of-8 from three and a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.  He scored FDU's final nine points but lost control of the ball attempting to get off a shot at the buzzer ending the Devil's chances.

DSU trailed by two (49-47) when the two went at it.  Coleman's three-point play with 6:21 to go made it a 50-49 DeSales lead before Katz answered with a three-pointer on the other end, regaining the two-point lead.

Coleman hit 1-of-2 from the line and the two traded free throws with just under four minutes left as FDU clung to a one-point lead (54-53).  A missed jumper from Katz at the 3:19 mark gave DSU a chance to re-take the lead and Coleman did not disappoint, hitting a short pull-up with 2:40 remaining.

Katz, however, had the answer drawing a foul and knocking down two freebies at the 2:21 mark, but again Coleman was up to the task, regaining the one-point lead with another short jumper in the lane with 2:09 left to play.

FDU had two chances to reclaim the lead but sophomore Will Green and freshman Kevin Furlong each missed shots giving DSU possession with 1:38 left.  The Bulldogs however were unable to make it a two-possession game and a turnover by sophomore Kyle Hash saw Katz streaking the other way but as he went up for the shot the ball squirted out of his hands and off his leg out of bounds.

All three referees however were blocked out of the play and did not see who the ball went off of and were forced to use the jump ball arrow, which pointed the Bulldogs way, giving DSU possession up one with 58 seconds left.

After several timeouts, DSU was unable to get the ball inbounds and a five-second call was made giving the Devils possession back with 44 seconds left and a chance to take the lead.  Junior Mike Williamson drove the lane but his shot was off as a mad scrum ensued to grab the loose ball rebound.  Eventually Williamson and Coleman both had the ball as a jump ball was called this time giving possession to FDU with 31 seconds left.

On the inbounds pass, Katz was tripped and sent to the floor dribbling around a screen and sent to the line where he cashed in both free throws to give FDU a 58-57 lead with 26 seconds left.  Out of another timeout, Coleman got the ball up top, slowly dribbled right and decided to use the space given by the defender pulling up from just inside the three-point line for a jumper that hit nothing but net giving the Bulldogs a 59-58 lead with 8.9 seconds left.

After another timeout, Katz got the inbounds, dribbled down the right side, went behind his back looking to create space and get a shot off, but the ball got loose and Coleman dove to push it away as the ball rolled out of bounds with 0.6 seconds left.  FDU had one last chance but a shot from just inside half court was nowhere close as the horn sounded giving the Bulldogs the one-point win.

Coleman was the lone Bulldog in double digits but senior Bob Zanneo did have nine points and junior Brett Moyer added nine points and 12 rebounds in the win.  DSU shot an even 50.0 percent from the field and continued its solid shooting from the line, hitting 73.7 percent.

Katz was joined in double digits by Andrew Stress with 12 points, but no other Devil had more than four points.  FDU shot just 35.3 percent from the field but stayed in the game via the three-point line, hitting 11-of-23 from outside the arc.

The win moves DeSales into a tie for third place in the Freedom Conference standings with Eastern University heading into the final week of the regular season.  DSU also controls its own destiny, needing just two wins in its final two games to earn a playoff spot.  The Bulldogs also still have a chance to earn as high as the #2 seed and a first-round home playoff game, sitting just one game behind Wilkes University, who currently resides in second place.

DSU takes on those Colonels at the Marts Center on Tuesday in its next game beginning at 8:00 pm.