The Blue Devils (1-0) trailed at halftime, 42-37, and despite D’Youville leading by 10 points with just over five minutes left in the game, Fredonia wouldn’t quit.

“I think we made it a little harder than it had to be, I think we learned a lot,” said Blue Devils coach Philip Seymore.

The rally started when Fredonia senior De’Quan Smith drained a three to cut the lead to 70-63 with five minutes to go≥ Smith, who finished with 26 points on the game, hit five threes in the game, three of which sparked the Blue Devils in the first half.

“He can be hot and cold with that, but he gave us a big spark and hit some big shots. He did some good things early,” Seymore said. “He’ll get better as the season goes on, too.”

Fredonia State’s Gary Sykes goes up for a shot during Tuesday’s season-opening men’s basketball game at Dods Hall on the SUNY Fredonia campus. OBSERVER Photo by Ron Szot.

Fredonia wouldn’t take the lead until only 1:30 remained on the clock, when sophomore Kreem George hit a step-back jumper to give his team a one-point lead, 76-75. George didn’t see a ton of playing time in the second half, but he made his time count.

With the game tied at 78, down to 40 seconds to go, Fredonia turned the ball over to give D’Youville one last possession. The visitors couldn’t capitalize on the chance though, missing a shot with five seconds left. Fredonia had three looks at the rim before the final buzzer sounded, but the rolls weren’t in their favor, which forced the overtime.

That allowed another Blue Devil bench player to step up.

Moussa Samassa, Fredonia’s starting center, fouled out late in the second half, allowing Adam Braniecki some time to shine off the bench. Braniecki only played nine minutes in the entire game, all of which came down the stretch of the second half and overtime, but finished with five points and seven rebounds.

All five of Braniecki’s points came on free throws in the overtime period, to give Fredonia the advantage.

Fredonia State’s Chad Biersbach, left, takes the ball upcourt during Tuesday’s game against D’Youville, at SUNY Fredonia. OBSERVER Photo by Ron Szot.

Braniecki and George combined to give Fredonia some valuable minutes off the bench.

“He (Braniecki) was very active on the boards,” Seymore said. “He’s been stepping up, he’s getting his confidence. Same with Kreem (George). He didn’t play in the second half much, but he made some big shots.”

Fredonia lead for the entirety of the overtime period, but it wasn’t without it’s excitement.

With an 87-84 lead, and about 20 seconds remaining on the clock, Fredonia guard Dydy Bryan was caught in the D’Youville press when he tried a pass through half court that was knocked down by the Spartans. The two teams played an intense mini game of hot potato as both sides were scrambling to recover the loose ball, before De’Quan Smith finally collected it, drawing a foul and heading to the line. Smith hit both of his free throws, seemingly icing the game, 89-84 with just 13 seconds left.

But D’Youville didn’t go away.

Fredonia State’s Dydy Bryan (5) attempts a layup during Tuesday’s season-opening men’s basketball game at SUNY Fredonia. OBSERVER Photo by Ron Szot.

With just 4.5 seconds remaining, D’Youville’s Jagdeep Drumgoole shot a step-back three that was straight through, and in his motion, drew a foul. Drumgoole, who only hit two shots all game, converted the four point play, giving his team some late life, now down just two points with just under five seconds.

The Blue Devils were able to inbound the ball and draw the foul, but Smith was only able to hit one of his two free throws, giving his team just a three point lead with four seconds to go, allowing the Spartans one more shot.

Fortunately for the Blue Devils, Devon Darrell’s potential tying three hit the front of the rim, giving the Blue Devils the nailbiting victory.

Despite the thrilling win, Seymore knows this isn’t his team’s best game.

“What I told them after the game was that that’s not our best basketball,” Seymore said. “Some of our starters didn’t finish the game, so we have a lot of guys who can contribute. We have a lot of guys who can play,”

One other factor the Blue Devils had in their favor was the crowd. The atmosphere in Dods Hall was electric, with barely an extra place to sit.

“It means that my throat gets sore because they can’t hear me,” Seymore said. “They’ll support us when we have success. It’s fantastic. It means they’ll be waiting for us when we get back.”

Smith was Fredonia’s leading scorer in the game, finishing with 26 points and four rebounds, while Bryan scored 23, with nine rebounds, and six assists. Samassa finished with 14 points and eight rebounds before fouling out.

D’Youville was led by Grant Beyer’s 23 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Darrell had 18 points. Juan Miguel Rosales had 16 points and eight rebounds before he fouled out, as well.

Fredonia is next in action on Friday against Vassar, as the Blue Devils compete in the Nazareth tournament in Rochester.