Philadelphia, Pa. - The Holy Family University men's basketball team defeated Felician College by the score of 60-55 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) contest to record its first conference victory of the season Saturday afternoon at the Campus Center Gymnasium.
 
With the win, Holy Family snaps its four-game losing streak and improves to 4-4 overall.  The Tigers are now 1-2 in CACC action after the victory.  Felician is now 2-7 overall and 2-3 in conference play.
 
For the second straight game sophomore Alberto Munoz (Morrisville, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons) led the Holy Family offense in scoring as he tallied a team-best 16 points.  He also added six rebounds and two assists. 
 
Junior Angel Ayala (Allentown, Pa./William Allen) and sophomore Nate Hodge (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills) each contributed nine points apiece off the bench for the Tigers.  Ayala also grabbed nine rebounds.  Senior Rickie Crews (Deptford, N.J./Deptford) finished with nine points and led the team with ten rebounds.
 
For Felician, senior John Tello finished with a game-high 19 points after knocking down four three-pointers.  Sophomore Tajric Boggs also scored in double-figures as he finished the game with 13 points.  Senior Jimmy Schmitt contributed five points and led the game with five assists.
 
Late in the second half with the game tied 48-48, Hodge scored a layup and was fouled in the process sending him to the free throw line to attempt a three-point play.  Hodge knocked down the free shot and gave Holy Family the lead by the score of 51-48 with 5:47 left to play in regulation.
 
The Tigers would increase their lead to six, which was the highest amount either team would lead by, after Hodge converted a pair of free throws to make the score 54-48 with 4:19 showing on the clock.
 
Later in the half, Felician came within one point of Holy Family's lead after Tello drained a deep three to make the score 56-55 with 1:19 to play. 
 
Neither team would score a basket from that point on, as Holy Family knocked down 4-of-6 free throws in the final minute of regulation to secure the 60-55 victory.
 
Both teams struggled from the free throw line as Felician converted only 5-of-12 from the line, while Holy Family was 17-of-30.  The Tigers though finished strong from the line down the stretch converting 8-of-13 in the game's final five-plus minutes.
 
In the first half, Holy Family led the entire time until the final seconds of the half.  Junior Anthony J. Green gave Felician its first lead (27-26) of the game with a layup basket with :17 seconds remaining before halftime.
 
However, Holy Family took the lead right back as junior Maurice Hargrove (Philadelphia, Pa./Martin Luther King) drained a three-pointer as time expired to end the first half.   Hargrove's three gave Holy Family a 29-27 halftime lead. 
 
Holy Family is back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 13 as the Tigers host Lincoln University in a non-conference contest in the team's final home game before the New Year.  Tuesday's game is also 'Black Out' night as fans are encouraged to wear their 'Tiger Madness' t-shirts to the game.  Game time is slated for 7 p.m.