RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Senior forward Jeff Lewis (Sicklerville, N.J./Timber Creek) recorded 26 points and 10 rebounds as Felician University earned an 84-71 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference men's basketball victory over the visiting University of the Sciences on Saturday afternoon at Job Gymnasium. Felician (10-13, 8-7 CACC) has won four consecutive games for the first time in more than three years.

The victory, combined with other conference results from Saturday, pushes the Golden Falcons into fourth place in the CACC North Division, with a half-game lead over Caldwell University for the Division's final playoff berth. Felician has four games remaining, including a date with Caldwell on Feb. 26 in Rutherford.

Lewis enjoyed his second consecutive 20+-point game and fourth of the season. He posted his third double-double of the campaign and first since Dec. 7. Lewis was 12 for 16 from the floor and added two blocked shots and an assist in 27 minutes. A second-year transfer, he tallied his most points as a Golden Falcon, but once scored 28 while playing for Cheyney University.

Senior swingman Rachid Shimou (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) totaled 14 points, a career-high eight assists and four steals for the Golden Falcons. Felician sophomore guard Jaylen Colon (Paterson, N.J./John F. Kennedy) added 11 points and six assists.

The Golden Falcons spent most of the day working with a lead. A layup by Nas Amos (Newark, N.J./East Side) and a Lewis three-point field goal extended a three-point Felician edge to 20-12 as the first period reached its midpoint. A putback by Jared Pearson (Woodbridge, N.J./Woodbridge) with 1:27 left in the half stretched the lead to 11 before a pair of Thomas Melonja (McMurray, N.J./Peters Township) buckets forced Felician to settle for a 35-28 halftime advantage.

The hosts began the second half quickly. A transition layup by Lewis capped a 10-2 run which forced a USciences timeout with Felician ahead, 45-30, and 16:31 to play in regulation time. Nearly as quickly, the Devils almost completely reversed the script. It took only 2 ½ minutes for the visitors to craft a 15-4 spurt to pull within four.

A Pearson basket temporarily halted the Devil momentum. But a steal and dunk by Javon Gordon (Franklinville, N.J./Delsea) restored the four-point margin, and following a dry spell for both sides, a Connor Murphy (Chester, N.J./Gill St. Bernard's) free throw and a layup by Sean Simon (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle College HS) left USciences down by one.

The Devils had once chance at the lead but misfired before Amos restored order for the Golden Falcons with a three-pointer with 8:17 left. The shot touched off a 20-4 Felician run which sealed the victory, with the Golden Falcons taking their largest lead, 72-55, following a Shimou jumper at 2:33. Moments later, Shimou made a steal and spotted Lewis on the break for a punctuating dunk.

Melonja (9-13 FG) led four double-figure scorers for USciences (6-17, 4-12) with 21 points. Murphy finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Felician had 11 steals on the Devils' 17 turnovers and converted those miscues into 31 points.

Amos tallied nine points for the Golden Falcons and Pearson finished with eight. Both benches were heavily involved with Felician's non-starters outscoring those of USciences, 23-18.

Felician's last time winning four consecutive games was a five-game streak from Nov. 18-30, 2016. The Golden Falcons had not captured four CACC wins in a row since a six-game stretch from Jan. 25 – Feb. 15, 2011.

Felician is in action again on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. CACC contest against Post University, the North Division's second-place team, in Waterbury, Conn.