BLOOMFIELD, NJ - The magic of the Deacons' Den was on display again Tuesday night, as the men's basketball team extended their home winning streak to 19 games with an edge-of-your-seat 77-73 victory over the gritty Felician College Golden Falcons.

The seesaw battle saw the two squads trade haymakers throughout a frenzied 40 minutes of play, with the Deacons coming out of the fray with a 42-35 advantage through the first 20 minutes.  The lightning-fast pace continued from the moment the whistle blew to begin play in the second frame, with the Falcons storming back with an 8-0 run to take a one-point advantage.  The Deacons were now faced with an increasingly formidable challenge; an opponent who refused to back down on a court they had owned for nearly two years, and who suddenly held all the momentum as a packed house grew restless.

But special teams respond to challenges that seem too daunting, and rally to save causes that appear more lost with each opposing bucket.  The Deacons fought back from a 65-55 deficit with a few ticks under nine minutes remaining in the contest, grinding out a 9-2 run to climb to within three in just over two minutes of play. 

The Falcons lead would inch to four with 3:50 left to play before the Deacons would make a spirited charge to steal their fifth CACC victory of the season.  Gage Daye got things started with a tough jumper, and after two key Felician misses from the free-throw line on the next possession, Chris Sampson took a beautiful feed from Ahmad Harris and threw it down, knotting the score at 69.  The Falcons were able to grab a one-point lead after a 1-for-2 trip to the charity stripe, but Daye would strike again, nailing a jumper to push his point total to a game-high 26. 

Matt Wafula then provided the bucket the Bloomfield crowd had thought would ice the game, laying in an inbounds pass from Harris to give the Deacons a 73-70 cushion with 1:43 to play.  But Falcons forward Ethan Kennedy drilled an open three-pointer on the next possession, sending the Felician faithful who had infiltrated the building into a frenzy with just 74 seconds remaining. 

But Daye would not let his Deacons be denied, as he took the next possession and drove to the rack, drawing a foul and stepping to the line with 54 seconds remaining in a tie ballgame.  The sharpshooter showed why he's one of the premier players in the nation, calmly draining both freebies to give the Deacons a two-point cushion.  After a missed three seemingly spelled the end for the Falcons, Daye made one of his lone mistakes of the evening, air-mailing a pass way over the head of his intended target.  The turnover gave the Falcons one last shot to draw even in the game's waning seconds.

It was an opportunity that never came to pass, however, as Wafula orchestrated the biggest play of the night with a strip of guard Antoine Obery.  Wafula streaked down the court and layed the ball in, bringing the Deacons' faithful to their feet and lifting his club to an exhilarating four-point win and keeping the Deacons perfect in CACC play.

Daye notched four steals and dished out five assists to go along with his 26 points in the win, while Wafula's huge final bucket gave the first-year Deacons six points and a pair of rebounds on the evening. Chris Sampson controlled the paint to the tune of 14 points and nine rebounds, and  Wilson Pilarte continued his rock-solid play in the win, posting 13 points and swiping three steals.

The team returns to action Thursday, January 21 with a home CACC contest against Nyack College.  Tip-off is set for 8:00 PM.