HOBOKEN, N.J. – Junior center Chris Hendershot scored 23 points and pulled down six rebounds to lead FDU-Florham to a 70-67 come-from-behind victory over Stevens Institute of Technology on Tuesday in a men’s basketball game at the Canavan Arena.
FDU-Florham (3-0) rallied from a seven-point deficit midway through the second half. Stevens (1-2) took a 59-52 lead on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Jimmy Dominkewicz (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) with 9:37 remaining. The Devils then used a 14-0 run over the next six minutes to take the lead. Junior forward Jeff Hemschoot had seven of his 11 points during the key run. A 3-pointer by sophomore guard Matt Cushing with 5:20 left gave FDU-Florham the lead for good, 61-59.
Trailing by seven points, 66-59, with 3:23 left, Stevens answered with six straight points to cut the FDU lead to one. A 3-pointer by freshman guard Garrick Todechine (Phoenix, Ariz./Sunny Slope) pulled the Ducks to within 66-65 with 1:42 remaining. The teams traded layups with Hendershot scoring for FDU with 1:10 left and junior forward Dan Jordan (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant) answering for Stevens with 43 seconds remaining. Following a timeout with 19 seconds left, the Devils again went inside to Hendershot who pushed the lead back up to three, 70-67, with 12 seconds left. The Ducks called timeout with 4.4 seconds remaining to set up a final play. Dominkewicz had a 3-point attempt from the right corner but missed off the back of the rim as time expired.
Stevens, which trailed by four points at halftime, scored seven straight points early in the second half to open up a 48-45 lead. After FDU pulled even at 48-48, Stevens took the lead on a layup by sophomore guard Ryan Kander (Belle Harbor, N.Y./Xaverian) at the 14:55 mark. The Ducks held the lead until Cushing’s 3-pointer at the 5:20 mark.
Jordan led Stevens with 16 points while sophomore guard Ryan Lynch (Medford, N.J./St. Joseph’s Prep) scored 11 points off the bench – all in the first half. Kander and sophomore forward Mike Collins (Bronx, N.Y./Trinity Pawling) had 10 points each. Collins grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
FDU-Florham had four players in double figures. Sophomore guard Jamal Ford had 12 points while Hemschoot and freshman forward Kevin White had 11 points apiece.
Stevens returns to action on Monday, December 1, when it opens Skyline Conference play with an 8 p.m. game at Yeshiva University.
