SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 14, 2015) -- Garret Kerr pumped in a career-high 40 points, while the brother tandem of Sho and Flo Da-Silva provided an invaluable spark off the bench to lead the sixth-seeded University of the Sciences men's basketball team to a thrilling 73-57 win over third-seeded Saint Anselm on Saturday afternoon in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional in Springfield, Mass.

The Devils improved to 25-5, marking the first time since 1997 the program won at least 25 games in a season, and advanced to the regional semifinals on Sunday night versus second-seeded Southern New Hampshire. That game will tip off at 5 p.m. at Butova Gymnasium on the American International College campus. The Penmen advanced in the regional by downing fellow Northeast-10 Conference-foe Stonehill College, 71-59, in the game immediately following USciences' impressive win.

Kerr also logged a double-double with 14 rebounds. Sho Da-Silva totaled 15 points and nine rebounds, while also blocking a trio of shots and swiping two steals, and Flo was just as strong with 11 points, four steals, three assists and three boards.

The huge triumph and career scoring performance came just one day after Kerr was named the Daktronics East Region Player of the Year. However, Kerr got off to a slow start by his amazing standards -- including picking up two early fouls -- while the Devils tried to find their footing and fighting some early nerves.

The Da-Silva's were inserted into the lineup, and the team took off from there. The duo hustled all over the court and combined for six of USciences' eight steals.

With the Da-Silva's setting things down with their ferocious play, Kerr settled in and showed the crowd why he laid claim to the region's top player award. He sparked a 13-4 run by USciences to close the first half and take a 33-21 lead into the intermission. Kerr's three-pointer from the left wing kick-started the closing run, which also included a strip and coast-to-coast dunk and a three-pointer to beat the first-half buzzer.   

Kerr rained in back-to-back jumpers early in the second half, and Flo Da-Silva's jumper with 14:36 remaining staked the Devils to a 43-26 advantage with 14:36 remaining.

To Saint Anselm's credit, the Hawks didn't fold and tried to claw away at the deficit and did so by scoring 14 of the next 18 points to pull within seven at 47-40 with 8:37 to go. Chris Santo, who had a team-high 18 points for St. A's in the game, aided the run with eight points. 

Saint Anselm had a chance to wilt away USciences' lead even more on their next possession, but Sho Da-Silva yanked down a defensive board and was rewarded at the other end with a layup off a nice feed from Kerr.

Kerr added a pair of foul shots on USciences' next possession to push the lead back out to double-digits at 52-40 with 7:01 left, as the Devils would never let their lead slip below 10 the rest of the way in picking up the upset win.

The Devils shot 43 percent from the field, including a solid 48 percent (14-of-29) in the second half. USciences was strong on the defensive end by limiting the Hawks to just a 38 percent shooting clip for the game, including a 31 percent mark in the first half (8-of-26).

USciences held a 40-37 advantage on the boards, while forcing St. A's into 15 turnovers.

Joining Santo as double-figure scorers for Saint Anselm were Roy Mabrey and Victor Joshua with 12 points apiece.