Basketball Spotlight: Strong Shooting Propels Devils to Win over Chargers Thursday, January 6, 2005 By Bob Heller USIP Sports Information Director The USP men's basketball team connected on 13 of 20 shots from the field in the second half as they overcame a three-point halftime deficit to defeat Dominican College 72-62 tonight. USP finished the game shooting a sizzling 61.0% (25-41) from the field while the Chargers hit just 50% of their shots (26-52). The Devils held the advantage on the free throw line, making 15 of 22 (68.2% compared to just 7 of 12(58.3%) for Dominican. Bill Kurtz (So., Shawnee HS/Shamong, NJ) and Chris Brattelli (Sr., Highland Regional HS/Clementon, NJ) led the Devils with 17 points apiece while Eric Cangelosi (So., Camden Catholic HS/ Haddon Heights, NJ) chipped in an even dozen. Brattelli also snagged game-high rebound honors with eight. Kurtz turned in another solid performance shooting from three-point range, connecting on five of 10 shots. Bill has made 12 threes in his last two games (12-25, 48%). Trailing at the half, 32-29, the Devils fell behind by six 38-32 in the opening 90 seconds and still trailed by four 4036 with 15:27 left. USP followed with a 21-3 run over the next 7:29 to take a 14-point lead 57-43 with 7:58 to go. USP connected on eight of 10 shots during this stretch, with Kurtz starting things off with a three-point field goal and Pete Adams (Sr., Camden Catholic HS/Marlton, NJ) ending it with a driving layup. Adams was fouled and made the free throw to complete the three-point play. Brattelli had nine of the 21 points during the run, with Kurtz adding five. The Devils still led by 14 , 62-48 with 5:13 to go when dominican went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead in half and make the score 62-55 with just 3:28 left. Howard Lanier (Fr., St. Augustine Prep/Sicklerville, NJ) made a jumper in the paint and Brattelli connected on one of two free throws to boost USP's lead back up to 10 65-55 with 2:40 left. The Devils then connected on five of six free throws in the final 2:40 to seal the win, 72-62. USP had trailed by as many as six in the first half - a period that saw five ties and seven lead changes with Dominican grabbing the lead in the final minute of the period and going up three by the break, 32-29. The Devils take to the road for their next two conference games, a Tuesday evening matchup at Goldey Beacom College on January 13th and an afternoon matinee at Nyack on the January 16th.