Bryn Mawr, Pa. – The Fighting Owls faced their second top-five ranked opponent in the last five days, dropping a close contest to the No. 5 Eastern Florida State College (EFSC) Titans 80-71, Thursday at Harcum.  

Devin Smith had the Harford offense soaring from the jump. The sophomore guard led the Fighting Owls' attack in the opening minutes, following an early Harford bucket with a three-pointer and a mid-range jumper to put Harford up 7-0.

The Fighting Owls' defense forced the Titans into a woeful shooting start, hitting just 4-of-15 from the floor in the opening ten minutes. EFSC eventually rounded back into form over the next five minutes, closing the gap to four before Harford was forced to call a timeout.

The two teams continued to battle for the remainder of the first half, as Harford went basket-for-basket with the fifth-ranked Titans. When the horn sounded for halftime, it was Harford who led 37-31.

The Fighting Owls remained in the driver's seat in first part of the second half thanks to their strong performance from the free throw line. Despite several players teetering in foul trouble, EFSC stayed within range by shooting over 50% (13-of-24) from the floor during that same stretch.

The Titans came within two points of Harford's lead at the 10:37 mark after Johnny Bernand's layup made it 55-53. Fighting Owls' guard Khalil Williams-Diggins would have none of it, cutting through the lane and finishing while being fouled by a Titan defender to earn Harford three points the hard way.

Less than a minute went by before EFSC closed in on Harford again, as Jonathan Ned earned four quick points to push the Fighting Owls' lead back to one. Williams-Diggins denied the Titans a second time, driving home a dunk to put the men in blue ahead 61-58.

Despite Harford's best efforts, the momentum began to shift in the EFSC's favor. Following the dunk, the Titans rattled off 22 of the game's next 31 points. Harford's hot shooting hands suddenly went cold, finishing the game 3-of-11 inside the final eight minutes.

The Fighting Owls attempted to power through, closing the margin to six with under two minutes to go, but a pair of Titan free throws and a late layup ended Harford's hopes of an upset.

Game Notes

• For the third straight game, Devin Smith and Jaedon Willis finished as Harford's leading scorers. Smith ended the night with 18 points while Willis tallied 16 points and five boards.
• Naquan Williams-Day pulled down nearly one-third of Harford's rebounds (9-of-30).
• The men in blue move to 0-2 this season in games played at neutral sites.
• The Titan's bench outscored Harford's reserves 46-20.

Up Next
Harford will have to shake off their loss quickly, as they play again tomorrow (Friday) at Harcum against Richard Bland at 5 p.m.

The Fighting Owls defeated the Statesman back on Nov. 7 in Harford's home opener.