RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Trailing by 15 just minutes into the second half, the University of the Sciences men's basketball team came all the way back to within one point before going cold in an eventual 84-71 loss at Felican on Saturday afternoon.  

Felician built a first-half-high 35-24 advantage 1:27 ahead of the break and although the Devils cut the halftime deficit to seven with the final four points, the Golden Falcons came out of the locker room with a 10-2 surge to take the game's largest lead, 45-30, with 16:31 remaining. 

It was Thomas Melonja leading USciences back, making three 3-pointers in the span of 2:03 as part of a 16-5 run that pulled the Devils within four, 50-46, on the freshman's triple with 13:28 left. 

After a Felician basket 46 seconds later, University of the Sciences held the Golden Falcons scoreless for nearly three and a half minutes to get as close as one point, 52-51, on Sean Simon's layup with 9:04 to play. 

USciences could regain the lead though, as the Devils went cold and scored just two points over the next six minutes. 

Melonja's second half burst resulted in a team-high 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting and 3-of-5 3-pointers. 

Fellow freshman Connor Murphy recorded his third consecutive double-double, and 10th this season, with 10 points, a game-high 10 rebounds and a team-high four assists. 

Simon and Jordan White were also in double-figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively, with Simon tying a career-best with six boards. 

Cameron Hoffman contributed eight rebounds and six points. 

The biggest disparity in the box score came in points off turnovers, with Felician outscoring University of the Sciences 31-10 despite committing just six less, 17-11.

The Devils return home to host Holy Family this Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.