Junior guard Mike Dunn (Philadelphia, Pa./Central Dauphin) registered 20 points, including a pair of game-clinching free-throws in the final seconds, leading Philadelphia University to a key 64-59 win over visiting Holy Family University in nationally-televised men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at a packed Gallagher Center.  The win, which was broadcast across the nation on CSTV, improves the Rams to 14-11 overall, including a perfect 11-0 in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) for Head Coach Herb Magee's squad, currently ranked number six in the Northeast Region of NCAA Division II.  The Tigers, right on the heels of the Rams at number seven in the region, fall to 15-8 overall and 8-4 in league play.

Dunn, who now needs just 16 points to reach 1,000 for his career, connected on four three-point field goals to lead the Rams while sophomore forward Malcolm Ingram (Philadelphia, Pa./Solebury Prep) added 15 points and nine rebounds.  Sophomore point guard Russell Frederick (Joppa, Md./Calvert Hall), returning to the starting lineup after sitting out Thursday's win over USP to recover from injury, recorded a double-double for Philadelphia.  The Rams' playmaker poured in ten points, grabbed a career-high ten rebounds, dished four assists and swiped two steals in the contest.  Frederick's contributions on the glass were a large reason for the 46-33 rebounding differential in the Rams' favor, which in turn was a big factor behind Phiadelphia University's second narrow win over the Tigers this season.

Senior guard Michael Sturns (Fort Worth, Texas/University of North Texas) led all scorers with 25 points for Holy Family in a losing effort, and teammate London Houston (Philadelphia, Pa./California University of PA) notched a double-double with ten points, ten boards and seven blocked shots.

Ingram opened the scoring with an old-fashioned three-point play :45 seconds in, and that provided the spark for a 10-0 Rams' rally through the first four minutes.  Two more layups at the 11:09 and 10:36 marks by Philadelphia's leading-scorer gave Magee's team a 22-11 lead at the midway point of the opening period.

Holy Family then chipped away at the Rams' advantage before sophomore center Mike Yocum (Dresher, Pa./Episcopal Academy) netted a jumper from inside the paint to make the score 27-19 Philadelphia with 5:09 left in the half.  From there, the Tigers reeled off five straight to trim the lead to three, followed by a string of traded baskets with the Rams getting the last possession before the buzzer to take a 33-28 lead into the locker room for the break.

Jason Hickenbottom (Philadelphia, Pa./Simon Gratz) commenced the second half with a layup as the Rams' senior forward would go on to total 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks on the afternoon.  But the Tigers countered, mounting their best charge of the day on a 10-0 run to open their first lead of the game as the score was 38-35 Holy Family with 16:14 to play in the second frame.

Dunn responded with one of his four three-pointers to tie the game, and the bucket initiated a 13-2 stretch for Philadelphia that put the Rams ahead 48-40 with 11:06 remaining.  A Frederick trifecta with 9:09 left swelled the lead back into double figures at 53-42, but the game of streaks would press on as the Tigers tallied the next five points before sophomore forward Marcus Lemon (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) drained a long distance shot for three of his seven points off the bench as the Rams went back up by nine with 6:17 to go.

The near-capacity crowd at The Gallagher Center started to sense a pending victory, but they quickly had to brace for a dramatic finish as Holy Family rallied in the closing minutes to cut the Philadelphia lead to two, 60-58, with 1:24 left.  However, a Frederick layup, Dunn's aforementioned clutch foul shots and some timely rebounds off missed Tiger free throws sealed the win as the Rams are now 1-0 in front of nationwide TV cameras, and more importantly still undefeated in CACC play this season.

The unblemished record is put to the test once again this Wednesday night, February 13, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. as the Rams travel up the road to Chestnut Hill College to face the Griffins.  Chestnut Hill, a newcomer to the CACC in 2007-'08, is coached by former Philadelphia University player and assistant coach Jesse Balcer '96.  The Rams will be back at home the following game, entertaining Felician College on Saturday, February 16, 2008 at The Gallagher Center at 4:00 p.m.

If you can't make it to the arena on campus for home games, you now have three digital methods to follow the Rams and Lady Rams on the Division II hardwood:

• Log onto the new live stats service
• Listen to live audio play-by-play on Teamline
• Watch pay-per-view video via Penn Atlantic at CACC.tv. **also available for most away games**