Box Score (Westminster, Md.) – The #21-ranked Dickinson men's basketball team suffered a 77-67 setback at McDaniel College in the Centennial Conference opener on Tuesday night.
The Red Devils struck first before McDaniel went on a 7-0 run. Sophomore Justus Melton (Charlotte, N.C./Covenant Day) scored twice and first-year Jule Brown (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Marion) knocked down a three-pointer to pull the Devils within a field-goal at 11-9.
Moses Romocki (Creedmoor, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons) tied the game at 14, hitting a three-pointer at the 10:02 mark of the half. First-year Michael Jurzynski (Pearl River, N.Y./The Master's School) came on to give the Devils a spark at the end of the first half as the teams played to another tie at 20-20.
Jurzynski hit a pair of free throws and Romocki scored a late basket to give Dickinson a 26-23 lead at halftime.
McDaniel scored quickly to start the second half before senior Brandon Angradi (Milford, Pa./Delaware Valley) countered with a three-pointer, just seconds later on the other end.
Tim Stewart hit a jumper from the corner and McDaniel had a chance to tie but Ted Hinnenkamp (York, Pa./York Suburban) made a steal and laid it in. Angradi followed that with another three-pointer to put the Devils up, 34-27.
Stewart led the Green Terror to within four at 37-33. Wes Brooks knocked down a three from the top of the key to make it a one point game at the 14 minute mark.
McDaniel had three chances to take the lead, and hit a three-pointer on the third. An illegal screen negated the shot to keep the Devils up by one. The Terror would take the lead on the next possession, scoring on a baseline jumper by Nick Yockey.
The Devils turned the ball over but Brown grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast to coast to put Dickinson back on top, 39-38, with 11:15 remaining in the game. The Devils held on defense and worked the ball in to Hinnenkamp for an easy basket and a three-point advantage.
McDaniel tied the game on another Brooks triple and the teams traded rebounds. Jurzynski drew two quick fouls on Yockey, giving him his fourth at the 9:23 mark. Jurzynski hit one free throw to put Dickinson up by one.
McDaniel went on a 5-0 run with a three-pointer from Austin Cannon and a steal and finish by Brooks. The Devils countered, going to Hinnenkamp inside to cut the deficit to 46-44.
Melton connected with Romocki on a nice dish and reverse lay-up to tie the game with seven minutes to play. Stewart scored his 23rd point of the game with a short jumper from the baseline. Melton tipped-in a miss but fouled Stewart on the other end, who gave the Terror a 50-48 lead.
Brooks scored and made another steal to give McDaniel its biggest lead of the night, 54-48, with just under four minutes remaining.
Melton grabbed a big offensive rebound and cut the lead to four. Stewart answered once again, scoring a quick bucket. The Devils took a quick shot but it was off the mark.
Brooks was fouled and stretched the margin to eight with a pair of free throws. Brown stole a defensive rebound with a steal and lay-up with 1:25 on the clock to cut the lead to six, 58-52.
McDaniel ran off all 30 seconds and made it a three possession game on a Cameron Royster lay-up. The Devils missed a pair of free throws and were forced to foul. Cannon hit one free throw but Kevin Yrizzary controlled the miss and made both his attempts to put McDaniel in front, 63-54.
Melton scored on the other end and called timeout. Dickinson fouled Brooks with 27.6 seconds on the clock. He hit both ends and Melton scored on a put back. Cannon would add one more from the stripe for the final of 66-56.
Stewart finished with a game-high 27 points to lead McDaniel to a 3-1 start.
Melton hit 8-of-9 shots from the field for a team-high 16 points, adding seven rebounds. Brown reached double-figures with 13 points while Hinnenkamp and Angradi finished with eight and six. Jurzynski added five points and five rebounds.
The Red Devils slip to 1-3 overall. They return home to face Gettysburg College next Tuesday at 8:00 pm in the Kline Center.
