The Misericordia men's basketball team came agonisingly close to pulling off a road upset of defending Freedom Conference champion DeSales, but fell 63-59 after an entertaining game that featured four ties and two lead changes in the second half alone. 

Misericordia falls to 12-10, 6-5 with the loss. The Cougars are still in possession of the fourth and final playoff spot with three games to play. 

Senior point guard Marcus Little had a team-high 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Fellow senior Dom Del Prete had 15 points. 

With the game tied at 46 and 8:46 remaining, the Bulldogs hit four straight free throws. Del Prete then forced in a basket in the lane and fought his way to the line for two shots, again tying the contest.

Unfortunately for the Cougars, DeSales answered with a 7-2 run to take a 57-52 lead into the final three and a half minutes. Del Prete's ensuing three was answered by first-team All-American Darnell Braswell, before Misericordia made one final push.

Little hit a mid-range jumper to cut the score to 60-57 and then was able to post up for a tough bank shot, pulling MU within one. 

Misericordia had a chance to take the lead in the final minute, but couldn't find a good look before the shot clock ran out. Still within one, Braswell hit a dagger three-pointer with 19 seconds left to give the Bulldogs a two-possession lead. 

Little was a perfect 3-of-3 in the first half and opened the second period with another basket to pull the Cougars within one point. 

Three possessions later the game was tied at 35, as Little sunk two free throws following a Sean Bieski jumper from the top of the key. Robbie Johnson then hit a runner in the key as the visitors took the lead for the first time since the opening minutes. 

A long two by Little stretched the MU run to 8-0 before DeSales finally answered. Mark Leonard then dropped in a beautiful arching three to give Misericordia points on five of six possessions.

After a Mark Williams three-pointer gave Misericordia an early 3-2 lead, DeSales went on a 12-2 run that was finally broken by an Ethan Eichhorst triple with 9:56 remaining in the half. 

With 5:13 remaining in the first period, a three-pointer by Little cut the DeSales lead to four, but the Bulldogs answered immediately. Two minutes later, Jeff Slanovec pulled MU within three with a trey of his own. A Johnson steal and fast break lay-in cut the DeSales advantage to one, 27-26. 

Braswell stopped the run with a very long pull-up three, but Slanovec came right down the floor and answered with a 25-footer of his own. DeSales converted a bucket just before the buzzer and took a 32-29 lead into halftime.

Misericordia stayed close in the opening period thanks to their 6-of-10 shooting from behind the arc (DeSales was 2-of-9). However the Cougars made just 2-of-8 threes in the second half. 

The Cougars continue Freedom Conference play on Saturday when they travel to FDU-Florham.