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The Match-up: The Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team (17-9, 13-3 NEC) will look to get back on track when it hosts Wagner (11-13, 4-11 NEC) on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 8:00 p.m., following the Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball tilt against Monmouth, which tips off at 5:30 p.m.

The Knights had their 11-game winning streak, which ranked fourth nationally, snapped in a double-overtime battle at Monmouth on Monday night, 96-89. The game in West Long Branch, NJ completed a stretch of three road games in three different states in five days.

The Knights are 8-1 at the Rothman Center this season, holding a perfect 7-0 mark on their own hardwood against conference foes.

This is the 82nd meeting between the teams, with FDU holding a 46-35 edge in the all-time series. The two met earlier in the season on Feb. 4, when the Knights walked away with a win, 87-72, in Staten Island, NY. Five Knights scored in double-digits in that contest, with senior guard Chad Timberlake (Brooklyn, NY/New Utrecht)'s 25 points leading the way. Junior Michael Peeples had 10 points and 10 rebounds for his first of two double-doubles this season and the Knights had good production from senior Gordon Klaiber (16 pts), junior Andrea Crosariol (16 pts) and junior Andre Harris, with 12 points off the bench.

The Knights started the week on a good note with an 85-76 win at Sacred Heart on Thursday night. Timberlake led FDU in the win, recording 27 points on 8-of-9 shooting. FDU then traveled to Wisconsin for a BracketBuster by eBay pool contest at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where they won a thriller, 68-64, on the heroics of Peeples' clutch pair of steals along with the final four points of the game. FDU ended the road-stretch with the loss to Monmouth on Monday evening.

NEC three-time Player of the Week Timberlake's 15.6 points per game lead Fairleigh Dickinson and rank fifth in the conference. Timberlake has received NEC Player of the Week honors three of the last four weeks, with his only week off going to Klaiber, who is averaging 14.7 points per game.

Crosariol is adding 10.3 ppg and leads the team with 6.7 rebounds per game. His 3.00 blocks per game lead the team, the conference and tie for 10th in the nation. The Knights as a team rank eighth in the nation in blocks.

Scouting the Opponent: Wagner enters tonight's game with an 11-13 overall record, including a 4-11 mark in the NEC. The Seahawks are currently in 10th place in the conference and are coming off a 64-60 win over Quinnipiac.

The Seahawks out-scored Quinnipiac, 42-24 in the second half to erase a 14-point deficit in the win, which ended a seven-game losing streak. NEC Rookie of the Week Jamal Smith led all scorers with 18 points and grabbed seven boards. Durell Vinson is leading the team with 14.7 points per game. Mark Porter chips in 11.8 ppg and DeEarnest McLemore adds 10.2 ppg. Vinson leads the Seahawks on the board with 9.5 rpg.

Wagner is 4-8 on the road, 1-6 in conference games. The Seahawks are averaging 66.8 points per game as a team and the Knights have put up 75.8. Wagner is ranked first in the conference in rebounding offense (38.1), just ahead of FDU, which is averaging 37.0 for second.

Add A Shelf to the Trophy Case: Senior guard Chad Timberlake earned his third Choice Hotels Northeast Conference Player of the Week honor in four weeks, announced by the league on Monday, Feb. 20.

With 11 straight victories to its credit, Fairleigh Dickinson now owns the fourth longest winning streak in the nation behind George Washington (14), Gonzaga (13) and Memphis (13), and at 13-2 in conference play has a magic number of one to clinch its first outright NEC regular season title since 1985-86.

The surge has been fueled by Timberlake, whose versatile play results in his third Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week award in the last four weeks. He averaged 18.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals, while shooting 57.1 percent from both the floor (12-21) and three-point range (4-7) as the Knights claimed a pair of road victories. On Thursday, Timberlake netted 15 of his 27 points in the second half as FDU rallied from a nine-point deficit to claim an 85-76 victory over Sacred Heart. He converted 8-9 shot opportunities, including 3-4 from long range, and added four rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Timberlake was saddled with foul trouble two nights later but still managed nine points, five rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes as FDU came away with a hard-fought 68-64 win over UW-Green Bay in a game resulting from the original eBay BracketBuster pool series. Timberlake, who hails from Brooklyn, now ranks in the NEC top-15 in seven individual categories, including scoring (15.5 ppg; fifth), assists (4.0 apg; sixth), steals (1.5 spg; seventh), 3PFG percentage (.403; seventh) and rebounding (5.3 rpg; 14th).

Sitting on Top: Fairleigh Dickinson has already clinched a share of the conference regular season crown and is on the cusp of earning its first outright NEC title since 1985-86. With a 13-3 league mark, FDU needs just one victory in its last three games or one loss apiece by Monmouth and CCSU to claim the top seed in the upcoming NEC Tournament.

Top 25: The Knights rode an 11-game winning streak into the CollegeInsider.com top-25 Mid Major Programs Poll. The Knights, who are 17-9 overall, with a 13-3 mark in Northeast Conference action, have already clinched at least a partial share of first place in the league.

FDU had its 11-game winning streak, which ranked fourth in the country, snapped in a double-overtime battle at intrastate rival Monmouth University on Monday evening, 96-89.

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.

In the Nation: Fairleigh Dickinson's 6.5 blocks per game rank eighth in the nation in NCAA Division I programs and junior Andrea Crosariol leads the team, the conference and ties for 10th in the nation with his 3.00 blocks per game. The Knights' three-point field goal percentage of 68.4 against Long Island on Feb. 9 ranks ninth as a team season-high.

Away from Home: Before the loss at Monmouth on Monday, Fairleigh Dickinson had won six straight road games, the longest such streak since Monmouth claimed six consecutive victories away from Boylan Gymnasium in 2002-03.

In the Last Five: Teams that have qualified For NEC Tournament in the last five years (2001-05)

All 5 Years: CCSU, Monmouth, St. Francis (NY), Wagner
4 Years: Fairleigh Dickinson, Wagner
3 Years: Long Island, Robert Morris, SFPA
2 Years: Quinnipiac
1 Year: Mount St. Mary's, Sacred Heart (ineligible one year)

Rothman Advantage: The Knights are 8-1 at home this season and 9-3 all-time in hosting NEC Tournament games.

Pair of Aces: Seniors Gordon Klaiber and Chad Timberlake rank third in scoring duos in the NEC, averaging a combined 30.5 ppg.

Going Down in the Books: FDU senior forward Gordon Klaiber is second in the NEC with 1,486 points and senior guard Chad Timberlake is third (1,291 points),

Klaiber continues to build on his impressive career totals. The two-time first team all-NEC selection enters play this week with 1,486 points (second among active NEC players) and 641 boards (first among active NEC players). He is just the ninth player in FDU history to amass 1,000 points and 500 rebounds and is on the verge of becoming just the 23rd player in NEC annals to reach 1,500 points and 500 rebounds.

Streaking Knights: Fairleigh Dickinson's 11-game winning streak was the fourth longest in NCAA Division I (see chart below) and the best for the program since winning 13 in 1953-54 under Head Coach Dick Holub. The school record for consecutive wins is 20, established in 1952-53.

It also marked the longest win streak by an NEC team since CCSU claimed 19 straight victories en-route to the 2002 league crown.

It was the longest single-season Division I men's basketball winning streak in the New York-New Jersey area since 1999-2000.

1. Hofstra (2000-01)	18
2. Manhattan (2002-03)	15
3. Manhattan (2001-02)	12
4. FDU (2005-06)		11

In the NEC: The Knights are 290-212 against current Northeast Conference members.

The Knights are ahead in the all-time series against every conference opponent: (Sacred Heart, 6-5), Central Conn. (13-8), Long Island (46-37), Monmouth (30-25), Mount St. Mary's (23-13), Quinnipiac (13-5), Robert Morris (27-25), St. Francis NY (49-27), St. Francis PA (35-32) and Wagner (46-35).

Last Time Out: Sophomore Bernell Murray's career-high 25 points weren't enough to carry the Knights 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.

Coach Green's Quotes on the Game: "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."

February Frenzy: The Knights have gone 7-1 of their games in the month of February.

Knights for THREE: The Knights connected on eight three-pointers against the Mount, while allowing only three of the Mount's shots from the perimeter. After shooting 30 percent from the beyond the arc in the first half, the Knights came back to make 5-of-9 in the second frame (55.6 percent).

Against Sacred Heart, the Knights again made eight treys, holding the Pioneers to two from the arc. The Knights held the Phoenix scoreless from three-point range in the first half, as UWGB went 0-for-6. The Knights continued to pressure the perimeter in the final 20 minutes as the Phoenix finished the game a combined 1-for-14 (7.1 percent).

The Knights held the Terriers to 1-of-10 from the three-point line, including blanking them from the perimeter in the second half. The 10% is a was a new team-best for perimeter defense, breaking the Knights' previous low, holding Quinnipiac to 4-of-18 (22%).

Climbing the Ladder: Andrea Crosariol has broken the all-time career blocks record, formerly held by current Assistant Coach Damari Riddick.

Gordon Klaiber now has 139 blocks during his career, for fourth place all-time at FDU. He is only the fourth player in program history to reach 1000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks.

	Career Blocks
	1. Andrea Crosariol `07		156
	2. Damari Riddick `88		149
	3. Rahshon Turner `98		144
	4. Gordon Klaiber `06		140

Grab the Windex: Andrea Crosariol (Abano T., Italy/Long Island Lutheran)'s 15 rebounds against University of Wisconsin- Green Bay were a career-high and a team season-high.

Klaiber's Rise: Gordon Klaiber was tabbed as the Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week,announced by the league on Feb. 13.

Klaiber's finest week of the season coincided with Fairleigh Dickinson's push to distance itself from its competitors as the Knights went 3-0 to extend their win streak to nine and take a 2.5 game lead in the NEC standings at 12-2 in league play.

Klaiber averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 1.3 blocks and shot 50.0 percent from the field, including 61.5 percent (8-13) from three-point range. He also made 22-26 from the charity stripe, an 84.6 percent success rate.

The senior forward scored 15 points and added three steals in the Knights' 93-78 victory over Robert Morris in Teaneck on Monday, then erupted for a season-high 30 points on 9-14 from the floor and 4-5 from long distance as FDU rolled past Long Island, 96-74, in Brooklyn on Thursday. To cap off the week, he tallied 23 of his 25 points in the second half and added nine boards to break open a close game and lead the Knights to a 69-58 conquest of Mount St. Mary's at the Rothman Center on Saturday.

Klaiber entered play last week as the NEC's leading active rebounder with 633, and second-leading scorer with 1,452 points.

Three of a Kind: FDU went 3-0 with convincing wins over Robert Morris (93-78), Long Island (96-74) and Mount St. Mary's (69-58). The FDU "Big Three" of seniors Gordon Klaiber and Chad Timberlake, along with junior center Andrea Crosariol combined to average 53.3 ppg, 18.4 rpg, 8.0 apg and 6.0 bpg. They also shot a red-hot 56.7 percent (55-97) from the floor, including 65.2 percent (15-23) from three-point range.

League Leaders: The Knights lead the Northeast Conference in four categories for the second time this season. The Knights are first in scoring margin (+3.8), blocks (6.40 bpg), assists (15.60) and field goal percentage (.457).

FDU is second in scoring offense (75.2), rebound offense (37.0), assist to turnover ratio (1.06) and defensive rebounds (24.92).

Starting Off Right: After recording 20 points or more in eight games last season, as well as three games with 30 or more points, Gordon Klaiber was able to score a team-high 20 points against Maryland, a top-25 team known for its pressure defense.

Klaiber notched his season-high at Long Island, pouring in 30 points on a season-high nine made field goals. The senior forward also recorded season-highs of eight free throws and four three-pointers.

Block It Out: As a team, the Knights are first in the Northeast Conference and ranked eighth in the nation with 6.50 blocks per game.

Individually, the Knights hold the top two shot blockers in the conference in junior center Andrea Crosariol (2.92 bpg; first) and senior forward Gordon Klaiber, who is averaging 1.64 bpg for second in the league. Crosariol is 13th in the nation in blocks per game.

The Knights posted a season-high 11 rejections against Robert Morris (1/28), led by Crosariol's career-high seven blocks.

In the win at Wagner, Crosariol broke his own single-season record for blocks, moving up to 57 (his previous record was 55 in 2004-05). Jonas Sinding had 64 blocks in 1997-98 for first in the single-season record books. Crosariol is two blocks away from becoming the all-time block leader at Fairleigh Dickinson, passing current Knights' Assistant Coach Damari Riddick's 149.

In the win against Sacred Heart (1/23), Crosariol and Klaiber each posted five blocks (a season-high for Klaiber) to account for all of the Knights' rejections. Crosariol notched a season-high seven blocks against Robert Morris (1/28).

Harris Provides the Spark: Junior forward Andre Harris has led the bench in nine of the last 10 games.On the season, Harris has led the reserves in 14 games and the team in two games. He has scored in double-digits seven times this season.

Timberlake Takes Honors: Senior guard Chad Timberlake was named Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the second consecutive week on Feb. 6.

Timberlake led the streaking Knights into first place with a pair of wins two weeks ago, averaging 21.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He hit 55.2 percent of his shots from the floor and 80.0 percent from the line as Fairleigh Dickinson stretched its win streak to six and improved to 9-2 in league play.

In a 78-65 win over visiting Long Island on Thursday, he tallied 17 points (8-12 FG), eight rebounds and four assists, then erupted for a game-high 25 points and snared seven boards in the Knights' 87-72 conquest of Wagner in Staten Island on Saturday.

With the score deadlocked at 35-35 at intermission, Timberlake poured in 11 of FDU's first 15 points in the second half to help the Knights slowly pull away the Seahawks.

The following week, with Timberlake providing the impetus, Fairleigh Dickinson posted a 3-0 mark to stretch its win streak to four and move into a first place tie with Central Connecticut State at 7-2 in conference play.

Timberlake averaged 23.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.7 steals and shot 53.6 percent from the field in an outstanding all-around week.

He exploded for a career-high 32 points and added five rebounds, seven assists and two steals as the Knights subdued Sacred Heart, 81-73, at the Rothman Center on Monday, then tallied 23 points and nine boards in a 66-49 win at St. Francis (PA) three days later. In a battle for first place at Robert Morris on Saturday, Timberlake capped off his week with 14 points, five rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and two steals. He scored the winning basket on a jumper in the lane with 12 seconds to play as the defending NEC champion Knights rallied from a six-point deficit in the final minute for an 84-83 victory.

Putting On a Show: The Knights' 56.1 percent from the floor (32-57) against Long Island was their highest field goal percentage of the year. The Knights had a season-low seven turnovers and took a season-low nine three-point attempts.

Fairleigh Dickinson also had three team season-highs against Robert Morris, dishing out 26 assists, grabbing 14 steals and making 38 field goals.

The Knights' previous best game-high field goal percentage, connecting on 34 of 62 attempts (54.8%), was at Robert Morris. The 11 blockswere also season-highs.

The Knights shattered several records against LIU, netting 34-of-54 attemtps from the floor for a 63 percentage. FDU made 13 three-point field goals for a new season-high in 19 attempts for a sesaon-high 68.4 percentage behind the arc.

On the Boards: The Knights out-rebounded the Red Flash by their largest margin, 42-27, helping to stage a 20-5 second-half run to take a dominating lead and break the tie out of halftime.

By the Numbers: The Knights are 14-2 when leading at the half and 1-7 when trailing at the half. FDU has been able to close out the opponent in late-game situations, going 16-1 when holding a lead with 5:00 left to play.

Shifting the Records: Senior guard Chad Timberlake recorded a new career high of 32 points against Sacred Heart, while shooting a season and team high of 24 field goal attempts and making a season and team high 13. Senior forward Gordon Klaiber had a season-high five blocks.

Senior Standing: The game against the Mount marked the ninth time this season that the Knights' two seniors, guard Chad Timberlake and forward Gordon Klaiber, combined for more than 30 points.

The duo has joined forces for 20 or more points 17 times and are averaging a combined 30.3 ppg.

Double Down: Gordon Klaiber notched his second straight double-double and second of the season against Quinnipiac (1/12) with 18 points and a season-high 11 boards.

Against St. Francis PA on Jan. 5 , he recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds. In that game, he also matched his career-high with five assists.

Chad Timberlake led the Knights with his first double-double of the season in the win against St. Francis NY (1/20) with 15 points and a season-high 11 rebounds.

Andrea Crosariol has given the Knights a team-high three double-doubles, with his last coming against University of Wisconsin- Green Bay (16 points, 15 rebounds).

Michael Peeples has registered two double-doubles, most recently postin 14 points and 10 rebounds.

In The Crowd: FDU has faced some big opponents this season in front of large audiences. The Knights, who started the season off at the Guardians Classic at WVU Coliseum, played in front of a crowd 18,833 strong at Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY. That is the biggest stage of the season coming in before a 17,950 attendance at the Comcast Center at the University of Maryland.

Next Time Up: The Knights host Monmouth in a rematch on Monday, Feb. 27.

Big Man on Campus: In the Knights 74-58 victory over Lousiana-Monroe, junior Andrea Crosariol logged his first double-double of the season. Crosariol's 18-point, 11-rebound performance in 34 minutes of action proved to be the difference in the game as the 7-foot, 260 lbs. center out of Albano T., Italy shot 8-14 from the floor, was a perfect 2-2 from the line and grabbed seven of his 11 boards on the offensive end. Last season, Crosariol had two double-doubles all year.

Crosariol broke his career-high as he recorded 21 points against 10th-ranked Louisville on Dec. 28 at Freedom Hall. Crosariol was 10-of-14 from the floor, with his 10 made field goals also notching a career-high.

The center put in some quality minutes under the basket, grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds in the win over Sacred Heart (1/23). The 12 boards are an individual team-high for the season as well.

Crosariol recorded his second double-double of the season at Long Island, despite playing with four fouls. He netted 10 points and grabbed 12 boards.

Get By With a Little Help: Fairleigh Dickinson's reserves dominated the opponent against Drexel as the Knights' bench out-scored Drexel, 23-3.

The bench provided 42 points against Dowling and was the team's second-straight game with 40 or more points coming off the bench.

Defensive Efforts: The Knights turned the ball over a then-season-low eight times against Mount St. Mary's, with only one of those turnovers being charged to a guard. Cameron Tyler dished out five assists in his 26 minutes without relinquishing the ball once.

The Knights then set a new season-low, coughing up the ball only seven times at Wagner.

Harris Takes Control: Junior forward Andre Harris had a career-night on Dec. 10, leading the Knights' to their second conference win against Mount St. Mary's. He notched a double-double with a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds. It was the first 20-point game of his career.

Timberlake Joins the Ranks of the Elite: Senior guard Chad Timberlake notched 11 points in the loss at Seton Hall on Dec. 5 and in doing so recorded his 1,000th point as a Knight.

The NEC tipped off the 2005-06 season with two returning players already ensconced in the 1,000-point club (Landy Thompson, Mt. St. Mary's; Gordon Klaiber, FDU). A total of four NEC players reached the 1,000-point plateau last year to raise membership to 122 since the league began sponsoring basketball in 1981.

D-Fense!: The Knights had more steals than Seton Hall (8-6), fewer turnovers (11-18) and more assists (12-10).

Welcome Back: Of the top-10 scorers in the NEC thus far in 2005-06, only two - Long Island senior James Williams and FDU senior forward Gordon Klaiber - finished in the top-10 a year ago.

Klaiber On the Move: A two-time first team all-NEC selection, Fairleigh Dickinson senior forward Gordon Klaiber will look to put a stamp on his career in 2005-06 as he attempts to lead the Knights to back-to-back conference championships. He entered the season as the NEC's leading active rebounder and second-leading scorer.

He is just the ninth player in FDU history to amass 1,000 points and 500 rebounds and is on pace to become just the 23rd player in NEC annals to reach 1,500 points and 500 rebounds and ninth player to hit 1,500 points and 750 rebounds.

Murray Steps Up: Sophomore guard Bernell Murray recorded the second and third blocks of his career against St. Francis NY on Jan. 20. The two blocks in a game were a career-high.

Murray scored eight of his ten points in the second overtime period to lead the Knights to victory against Canisius. He scored eight of the Knights' 11 points in the last five minutes, netting two free throws before sinking back-to-back three-pointers.

Career Production: Junior forward Michael Peeples had an outstanding night at Canisius, notching a career-high 18 points on a career-high seven made field goals. He tied his career-highs of two blocks, four assists and two three-point field goals.

In the Extra Period: The Knights' double-overtime victory against Canisius was their first game with extra periods this season. They are 1-1 in games that go into extra time after falling to Monmouth in double-overtime on Feb. 20.

Running Away With It: The 46-point win against Dowling was the Knights' largest margin of victory since defeating Hunter, 109-49, on February 22, 1964.

Clearing the Glass: Junior forward Andre Harris entered the half against Dowling with 10 rebounds, breaking his previous career-high of nine and finishing the game with a team-high 11 total boards.

Team Effort: All 11 players that dressed for the game against Dowling put points on the board. Nine Knights had scored going into the half and five players notched double-digit points.

He's Honored: Freshman Cameron Tyler was named the Northeast Conference Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week on Nov. 21.

The six-foot freshman guard came off the bench to score 17 points on 7-13 shooting from the floor, to go along with three rebounds and a game-high six assists in 36 minutes of work.

Taking Charity: In his first seven games, freshman guard Cameron Tyler was sent to the charity stripe 44 times, hitting 36 of those for an 81.8 percentage.

FDU Chosen to Participate in ESPN Bracket Buster Saturday: Fairleigh Dickinson has been chosen to represent the Northeast Conference in the fourth annual ESPN Bracket Buster Saturday on February 18, 2006. It marks the first time an NEC institution has been tabbed to participate in the event, which pits potential NCAA Tournament hopefuls against each other three weeks prior to Selection Sunday and will feature 11 nationally televised games selected from an expanded pool of 100 teams representing 18 conferences.

"We're proud to have Fairleigh Dickinson represent the NEC in this year's Bracket Buster field," said John Iamarino, NEC Commissioner. "FDU's strong effort vs. Illinois in the NCAA Tournament is a good example of how the Knights have historically played well against good non-conference competition."

Fairleigh Dickinson, the defending NEC champion, will play on the road, but will not learn of its opponent until late January, approximately three weeks prior to the event. As part of the agreement, all 11 of the Bracket Buster Saturday home teams, as well as the remaining 39 home squads competing in non-televised contests, will play a "return" game at the home facility of their opponent in November or December of the following season.

The Bracket Buster has expanded each of the last three years, with 18 teams participating in the inaugural 2003 event, 46 in 2004 and 64 in 2005. The selection of the 11 games to be televised will be made by ESPN, in consultation with commissioners of the participating conferences.

Fairleigh Dickinson captured its fourth NEC title in 2005, all of which have come under 23rd year head coach Tom Green, the winningest coach in NEC regular season and postseason history.

In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Knights played top-seed and eventual national runner-up Illinois to a first-half standstill, gaining instant recognition before a nationwide audience in a 12-point defeat.

Collegehoops.net Predicts: The Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team has been projected to win the 2005-06 Northeast Conference (NEC) championship by Collegehoops.net and is listed at No. 142 in their top 144 teams in 144 days college basketball preview. Collegehoops.net is a leading independent college basketball website.

NEC Preseason Poll: With three returning starters, including two preseason all-NEC picks, defending tournament champion Fairleigh Dickinson has been chosen as the 2005-06 NEC men's basketball preseason favorite, according to a vote of the league's head coaches. The preseason rankings, along with the league's preseason all-conference team, were announced during a media teleconference with coaches on Wednesday as a prelude to the NEC's 25th anniversary season. Looking to become the first league team since Rider in 1993 and 1994 to repeat as NEC champion, Fairleigh Dickinson earned nine of a possible ten first place votes from league head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own team.

Monmouth, last year's NEC regular season champion, finished tied for second in the poll with Wagner, which reached the 2005 NEC title game. The Seahawks received one first place vote, as did Long Island, which was picked fourth. Central Connecticut State and St. Francis (NY) finished tied for fifth in the poll, followed by Quinnipiac, Mount St. Mary's, St. Francis (PA), Robert Morris and Sacred Heart.

This marks the first time in 12 years and the third time in school history that Fairleigh Dickinson has been selected the NEC's preseason favorite by league head coaches.

Under the tutelage of 23rd year head coach Tom Green, the Fairleigh Dickinson program has captured four NEC championships, and has performed admirably in subsequent NCAA Tournament appearances on each occasion. Last March, the Knights trailed top-seeded Illinois by a single point at halftime before eventually succumbing, 67-55.

The Knights captured the 2005 NEC Tournament championship and earned the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1998. After finishing the regular season in second place, Fairleigh Dickinson defeated St. Francis NY (78-60), Long Island (70-62) and Wagner (58-52), all at home, to win the league crown.

Preseason Predictions: Five leading college basketball publications have selected the Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team as the favorite to win the 2006 Northeast Conference title and return to the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, all five have tabbed senior forward Gordon Klaiber as the Preseason Player of the Year while two other Knights earned preseason all-conference honors.

The Knights were selected to capture first place in the Northeast Conference in Sporting News College Basketball preview. Sporting News also picked Klaiber to the Preseason All-Conference First Team and Player of the Year.

Fairleigh Dickinson was picked for a first-place finish in Athlon Sports and Street & Smith's College Basketball previews as well. In Street and Smith's forecast, Klaiber was selected to the All-NEC team and was tabbed as the top player in the conference. Athlon picked both Klaiber and senior guard Chad Timberlake to the All-Conference First Team and projected Klaiber to earn Player of the Year honors.

In the conference breakdown done by CBS Sportsline.com, FDU was chosen to finish at the top of the NEC. In the preseason picks, Timberlake and Klaiber were slotted in the first team, while Klaiber was tabbed as the Player of the Year. In Lindy's Basketball preview, Fairleigh Dickinson was predicted to take first place in the conference and both Klaiber and Timberlake were selected to the All-Conference First Teams. Junior center Andrea Crosariol was honored with a second team prediction. Timberlake was given the superlative of "Most Versatile" in the magazine's honor roll and Klaiber was selected as the "Best NBA Prospect".

Knights in the NCAA Tournament: In their three previous trips to the NCAA Tournament (1985, 1988, 1998), all under current Head Coach Tom Green, the Knights have given each of their first round opponents a scare, but fell short.

	NCAA Tournament History
	2005 #1 Illinois 67, #16 FDU55
	1998#2 UConn 93, #15 FDU 85
	1988#1 Purdue 94, #16 FDU 79
	1985#1 Michigan 59, #16 FDU 55

Knights for 20: The NEC Tournament Championship game victory over Wagner (3/9) gave the Knights their 20th win of 2004-05 Fairleigh Dickinson has reached the 20-win mark seven times, six times under current Head Coach Tom Green. The last time the Knights had won 20 was in 1997-98 when they finished 23-7 and made their last NCAA Tournament appearance.

Klaiber for Three: With 149 career three-pointers, Gordon Klaiber has cracked the top five all-time at FDU in that category, leaping into fourth all-time.

	Career Three-Pointers Made
	1. 	Brad McClain `92		187
	2. 	Lionel Bomayako		159
	3. 	Jermaine Slider `98		155
	4.	Gordon Klaiber `06		149

Pick-Pocket: Chad Timberlake now has 144 career steals, moving him into third place all-time at FDU. Next up to pass is Desi Wilson (`91), who has 177.

	Career Steals
	1.	Dan Rosen `66		271
	2.	Desi Wilson `91		177
	3.	Chad Timberlake		144