Basketball Spotlight: Highlanders Hand Devils First Home Loss of Season Saturday, December 11, 2004 By Bob Heller USIP Sports Information Director The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Highlanders handed the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia men's basketball team their first home loss of the season today 63-57. The loss drops the Devils to 4-5 overall and 3-2 in conference play. USP has now dropped two straight conference games after winning their first three. Chris Brattelli (Sr., Highland Regional HS/Clementon, NJ) led the Devils with 15 points and nine rebounds.Eric Cangelosi (So., Camden Catholic HS/ Haddon Heights, NJ) added 13 points. The Highlanders opened the second half with a 13-4 run to turn a one point lead into a double-digit advantage, 42-32 with 15:35 left. Three minutes later NJIT was up by 11, their biggest margin of the game, 49-38 at the 12:31 mark. USP countered with a 12-4 run over the next 7:12 to pull within three 53-50 with 5:19 left. Chris Dougherty (Sr., Haverford HS/Haverford, PA) started things off with a layup at the 11:11 mark and Brattelli followed with a pair of free throws to cut the lead to seven 49-42. After both teams exchanged baskets, two free throws each by Cangelosi and Bill Kurtz (So., Shawnee HS/Shamong, NJ) completed the run. Neither team made a field goal over the next 3:25 but NJIT outscored the Devils 6-3 from the free throw line to pull ahead by six 59-53 with 1:54 left. Layups by Cangelosi and Brattelli got the Devils within two 59-57 with just 66 ticks left on the clock. However this was as close as the Devils would get as the Highlanders scored the final four points of the game to prevail 63-57. Next up for USP will be a home contest against West Chester University on Thursday, December 30, 2004.