Lakewood, N.J.- The Georgian Court University men's basketball squad, unable to build momentum after Saturday's defeat of Wilmington University, fell short vs. the University of the Sciences Tuesday evening with a 73-66 setback in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) action.

The Lions slip to 2-6 (1-4 CACC) on the year while the Devils climb above .500 at 5-4 (3-1 CACC) with the victory.

USciences jumped out to an initial lead of 11-4 in the first half, courtesy of a Sho Da-Silva (Sr.-Moorestown. N.J.) slam at 14:44. GCU stormed back with a furious 12-4 spurt, highlighted by a Nikola Vujovic jumper, to take a 16-15 advantage with 9:45 remaining.

The Devils responded with a 6-0 drive to regain a 21-16 lead at 7:16. The USciences surplus would never exceed that highwater mark during the first session as the Lions outscored its guest, 15-10, over the remaining minutes as the two clubs entered intermission knotted at 31-31.

The visitors came out in the second stanza with an immediate 5-0 run (18:10), but a clutch Michael Pierre three-ball and Juwuan Carter lay-in and subsequent free throw put GCU ahead, 37-36, just 1:01 later (17:09). 

A game-high, nine-point advantage was soon constructed by the Devils after a Da-Silva jumper put his team ahead, 55-46, with 10:21 on the clock.The Lions, demonstrating their innate resiliency, dropped a 9-0 roundhouse on to the chin of USciences, climaxed by another thrilling three-pointer by Pierre, to, once again, tie the contest (55-55).

GCU blitzed another deficit at 7:15 when Carter sank a three of his own to create a 58-58 stalemate, but the Devils would take off from this point by closing the game with a 15-8 sprint to secure the divisional triumph.

Da-Silva topped all players with his 24 points and four steals, while snagging 10 rebounds to complete the double-double for USciences. Will Gregorits (So.-Burke, Va.) provided a double-double effort of his own with 13 points and a game-high 11 boards. Wes Kerr (Sr.-Avalon, N.J.) contributed 16 points in 36 minutes while Flo Da-Silva (So.-Moorestown, N.J.) dropped in 11.

Pierre with four three-pointers and a 9-for-15 shooting effort from the floor, paced the Lions' offense with his season-best 22 points. Carter fell a rebound short of a double-double (12 points, nine boards) while Hamilton Capellan added 11 points in 19 minutes of action. J.D. Rodriguez contributed nicely with six helpers, two blocks, and a pair of steals.

Georgian Court now sets its sights on Thursday evening when the Lions host Pace University at 7:00 p.m. in non-conference action.