Feb. 20, 2006

Box Score

WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ - Sophomore Bernell Murray's career-high 25 points weren't enough to carry the Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team as its 11-game winning streak, which ranked fourth in the country, was snapped in a double-overtime battle at intrastate rival Monmouth University on Monday evening in Boylan Gym.

Murray shot 9-for-11 from the field, including a 7-for-9 mark from behind the arc. His seven made three-pointers are a career-high and a season team-high. Murray also dished out a team-high seven assists and junior Andrea Crosariol stopped a game-high six shots. Senior Chad Timberlake added 17 points, shooting 7-for-14 from the field and junior Michael Peeples registered his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The Knights were out-rebounded only slightly, 37-36, but the Hawks dominated in offensive boards, grabbing 15 to the Knights' eight. The Hawks were also able to force 20 turnovers, while only coughing the ball up 12 times, and shot 81.3 percent from the free throw line, with some clutch shooting from the charity stripe down the stretch. The Knights made only 14-of-27 from the line.

Peeples scored five of the Knights' first six points as they took an 8-6 lead to start the game. Senior Gordon Klaiber sank a free throw to give FDU a 15-7 lead. Although a three-point play by Tyson Johnson knocked the lead down to three, on the strength of what has become Andre Harris (Detroit, MI/Robichaud)' patented spark off the bench with jumpers from just inside the arc, FDU widened the gap.

Fairleigh Dickinson went on the offensive and took its first double-digit lead of the game on a trey from Murray, 35-25 before junior Jordan Ingram connected on a pair of free throws to give Fairleigh Dickinson its largest lead of the game.

Dejan Delic staged a three-point play of his own with 40 seconds left in the first half to send the teams into the locker room with FDU ahead, 41-33.

Murray opened with back to back three's on the Knights' first two possessions in the second half, notching eight points in the first five minutes. But Monmouth staged a 12-4 run over the next six minutes to cut the deficit to four, 51-47, with 12:50 remaining in regulation.

Timberlake had eight of the next 10 points for the Knights to carry the squad back to a double-digit advantage, 61-49 with just under 10 minutes left to play. The Hawks were able to climb back with an 11-5 run to make it 66-65, as Marquis Alston hit nine points in the final seven minutes, including the game-tying bucket with 25 seconds left to knot up the score at 69-69 at the end of 40 minutes.

The two teams matched points in the first overtime, with freshman Cameron Tyler netting big free throws down the stretch, connecting on 6-of-8 from the line. There were a combined 18 free throw attempts from the charity stripe, with Monmouth holding a one-point lead twice, both times within the first minute and a half of overtime.

The Knights held a five-point edge with 1:11 left, but the Hawks chopped it down to one after Tyler Azzarelli preceded a three-pointer from Mike Shipman. Monmouth then scored the final four points of the extra frame to tie it up again as Chris Kenny sank two free throws with nine seconds on the clock.

Murray began the second overtime with a three-pointer, but Monmouth took a strong hold of the game with five straight points, 90-85, with 36 seconds left to play. MU netted 11 of its 15 second-overtime points from the line. The Hawks connected on six free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the upset

"We knew Monmouth wasn't going to give up," said Murray. "I wasn't surprised at all when they kept coming back."

"We have a two game lead with two games to go," said Head Coach Tom Green. "We now have to put this together and take care of business against Wagner on Wednesday. The next two games are a must-win situation for us. I knew that the loss would come at some point, and I'd rather it happen now than 10 days from now."

The Knights play their final two games of the regular season this week, with one win clinching sole possession of first place, home court advantage through the NEC Tournament and a postseason nod to either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT. Fairleigh Dickinson hosts Wagner at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22 and closes out the regular season when they host Monmouth in a rematch on Monday, February 27 at 7:00 pm.