The Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team fell to Providence College, 96-71, in the 2006-07 season opener at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI on Tuesday evening. The Knights came back from a 55-26 halftime deficit to out-score the Friars 45-41 in the final 20 minutes, but it wasn't enough as the Knights fall to 0-1.
Providence started the game off hot with a 13-3 run, but Michael Peeples (Detroit, MI/Benedictine) cut the lead when he hit a long three from the corner. Peeples started his first game as a senior dominant, scoring seven of the Knights' first 15 points.
The Knights came within eight to make it 19-11 as junior Bernell Murray sank one from behind the arc and Peeples followed it up with a lay-in. The Friars responded with four-straight to take a 23-11 advantage.
PC strung together eight-straight unanswered points to take a 36-15 lead and used another run, 9-3, to extend the lead to 45-18 with all three of the Knights' points coming from senior Andre Harris (Detroit, MI/Robichaud).
Brian McKenzie dropped in a three with the seconds winding down to give the Friars a 55-26 edge heading into halftime. Harris and Peeples each entered the break with seven points.
Coming out of the break, the Knights were able to find their groove on both ends of the court, grabbing six steals and out-scoring the Friars, 26-19 over the first 12 minutes of the second period.
Their offensive spark was capped by a three-point play from Peeples and two free throws from sophomore Cameron Tyler (Jamaica, NY/Notre Dame Prep).
Murray ran the floor from end to end, swiping the ball under the Friars basket and sprinting down the court to convert it into a layup on the other end, making it 68-36.
With 7:39 on the clock, Tyler's behind-the-back pass found freshman Sean Baptiste (North Brunswick, NJ/St. Josephs of Metuchen) for two points, followed by a Knights' steal and junior Manny Ubilla (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) spotting Baptiste right under the basket for another pair.
The Knights blanked the Friars over the next two minutes with an 8-0 run to make the score 80-60. The newcomers combined to contribute six of the run's eight unanswered points.
Providence pushed the lead back up to 27 (94-67) with 2:11 remaining in the game. Peeples grabbed a rebound and put it back with one second on the clock to make the final 96-71.
Four Knights finished in double-digits, with Harris' 17 points leading the way. Peeples, Tyler and Ubilla each contributed 12, with Ubilla scoring 9 of his points in the second half. Senior Jordan Ingram (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Carroll) led the Knights on the boards, grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds. Murray and Ubilla each grabbed three steals.
The Friars held a 42-26 advantage on the boards and shot 58 percent from the floor. Despite a 26 percent shooting performance in the first half, the Knights came back after the break shooting 46 percent.
Herbert Hill led Providence with 22 points going 10-of-11 from the field. Sharaud Curry notched 18 points, Geoff McDermott posted 16 and Weyminmi Efejuku had 13.
After allowing PC to shoot 46 percent from the perimeter in the first half, the Knights held them to only 25 percent in the second.
"I hope that the first game is a good learning experience for us," said Head Coach Tom Green. "It's important for us to learn from our mistakes- we made several in the first half especially. Twenty-eight minutes of the game I'd like to throw away and 12 I'd like to keep for the future. This certainly lets us know what we have to work on."
The Knights are back in action against another Big East opponent on Saturday when they play Seton Hall at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, NJ.
