Senior Andre Harris (Detroit, MI/Robichaud) notched a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team (1-1) past Big East opponent Seton Hall (1-1), 76-71, on Saturday afternoon at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, NJ.
For the second-straight game the Knights made all of the adjustments to out-score their opponent in the second half. After entering halftime down, 43-37, FDU opened the second half with back-to-back baskets to make it 43-41. The Pirates scored six unanswered points to take a 49-41 lead, but Fairleigh Dickinson responded with six-straight to cut the lead back down to two (49-47).
Senior Michael Peeples (Detroit, MI/Benedictine) netted a jumper to knot the game, 54-54-- the first of seven ties in the final 12:38 of the game. The two teams traded baskets over the next eight minutes until junior Manny Ubilla (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) fed the ball to Eric Hazard who hit a trey with two seconds on the shot clock to give the Knights a 67-65 lead.
Jamar Nutter connected on a shot from behind the arc to give the lead to the Pirates, 68-67, but junior Bernell Murray made a pair of free throws followed by a pair of sophomore Cameron Tyler (Jamaica, NY/Notre Dame Prep) free throws. To seal the win, Tyler made a floating jumper giving the Knights a 73-68 edge.
Ubilla hit two from the line with 32 seconds on the clock and despite a Brian Laing three-pointer, Murray sank one more free throw in the final seconds as the Knights walked away with the 76-71 win.
In the final two minutes and 25 seconds, the Knights connected on 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. The Knights were able to convert 10 points off of turnovers in the half, while holding the Pirates to just four.
To open the game, the Pirates took an 8-5 lead off Eugene Harvey's three-point play after a Peeples' three tied it at five.
Fairleigh Dickinson took its' first lead of the game as Tyler made back-to-back lay-ups and the ensuing free throw for a 10-8 Knight advantage.
After three more ties and five lead changes, the Pirates went on a 10-2 run to make it 30-23 with seven minutes remaining in the half.
The Pirates held their biggest lead of the game, 41-32, with 1:50 remaining in the first frame on the strength of five points from Paul Gause. The Knights poured in five points over the next 35 seconds to make it 41-37, but Brian Laing, who finished the first half with 17 points, netted a bucket with 19 seconds on the clock to give the Pirates a 43-37 edge.
Harris shot 10-of-15 from the floor to guide the Knights to the program's first victory over a Big East school since Dec. 19, 1984 when FDU defeated Providence, 55-53. Tyler recorded a career-high 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting and Murray matched his career-high of six steals. Tyler dished out five assists and senior Jordan Ingram (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Carroll) posted three blocks. Peeples finished with 16 points and six rebounds.
"I told the team at halftime that we had seven more turnovers and they had two more offensive rebounds and that gave them nine more possessions,” said Head Coach Tom Green. “If we could eliminate those mistakes we'd be in business. Overall, I think we handled the pressure in tough situations very well and played like a mature team. We had to be a physical and out-rebound them. Our physical play in the last few minutes of the game is a tribute to our guys as they took Seton Hall off the offense.”
The Knights shot 51 percent from the field and 78 percent from the free throw line. After allowing the Pirates to shoot 49 percent in the first half, the Knights' defense held SHU to just 22.6 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes. The Knights out-rebounded Seton Hall, 43-32, despite holding only a slight advantage on the boards entering the half (18-17).
“After the loss to Providence, I said in practice there is no way I'm starting my senior season 0-2,” said Peeples. “We laid it all out on the line and made the changes to come back and play well.”
This win snaps the NEC's 24 game losing streak against the Big East as the last Northeast Conference victory over a Big East opponent was on Nov. 23, 2004 when St. Francis NY edged St. John's, 53-52.
The Knights are back in action in Jersey City, NJ when they place host St. Peter's on Tuesday, November 21 at 7:00 p.m.
