March 2, 2006

Box Score

HACKENSACK, NJ - The top-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team shot 50.0 percent from the floor (26-52) to defeat #8-seeded Quinnipiac University, 66-65, in a thrilling Northeast Conference Tournament quarterfinal tilt that came down to the final seconds.

Andrea Crosariol (Abano T., Italy) led the Knights (19-10) with 17 points and nine rebounds while Gordon Klaiber (Greenbelt, MD) chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds. Chad Timberlake (Brooklyn, NY) and Andre Harris (Detroit, MI) each added 10 points and Bernell Murray (Stillwater, OK) dished out six assists while Crosariol had five blocks.

John Winchester (Stamford, CT) led the Bobcats (12-16) with 16 points and Karl Anderson (Chester, NY) registered 15 points. Adam Gonzalez (Bronx, NY) had 13 points and Craig Benson (Hamden, CT) rounded-out the double-digit scorers with 11.

After the Knights held the lead for the first 28:49 of the game, Gonzalez forced the first tie at 64-64 with a jumper in the paint. The tie came as a result of a 9-0 run staged by the Bobcats early in the second half to claw back into the game.

Quinnipiac took the lead for the first time on Winchester's free throw, as he made the front end of a pair to make it 65-64 with 1:11 remaining in the game. Crosariol grabbed the rebound off the missed free throw, but Victor Akinyanju (Ardmore, MD) stole the ball on an errant pass and called timeout as he fell out of bounds. Timberkake's stifling defense gave the Knights their shot as he forced a turnover.

Timberlake brought the ball down to the other end and as a second defender came out to double-team him, Timberlake found Klaiber for a layup with 10.3 seconds on the clock. QU had time to take the ball down to the other end, but a block by Timberlake and a rebound by the Knights ended the game and advanced the Knights to the semifinals.

The Knights took a 7-0 lead to start the game, finished off with a Klaiber layup from Murray. FDU jumped out to a 16-8 advantage when Klaiber sank a three from the corner.

The Knights extended the lead to 14 points, their biggest of the half, 24-10, capped off by a Michael Peeples (Detroit, MI) no-look pass to Crosariol under the basket followed by Timberlake's quick three.

Over the first 11 minutes, the Knights owned possession of both sides of the court, going 11-for-16, while holding the Bobcats 6-for-21 from the floor. Both Crosariol and Klaiber were able to score quickly, each notching double-digits in the first 11.

The Bobcats used a 17-4 run over the next seven and a half minutes capped by back-to-back layups from Gonzalez and Anderson bringing Quinnipiac to within one, 30-29, with 2:49 remaining before halftime. Quinnipiac held the Knights scoreless from the floor for over six minutes in the stretch.

Winchester had a chance to tie up the game with a three-point play, but he missed the shot after and the Knights closed out the half on a 9-2 run as Peeples drained a three-pointer followed by a Timberlake trey. Andre Harris converted a layup with five seconds on the clock to go into the break ahead, 41-33.

Murray sank a jumper 20 seconds into the second frame to give the Knights a double-digit lead, 43-33, at the start of the second half, but nine unanswered points from the Bobcats again cut the lead to one as Gonzalez converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 43-42 with 16:06 left to play.

Timberlake's behind-the-back pass to Harris for a layup gave the Knights a seven-point edge, 49-42, with 14:19, but the Bobcats hung around, narrowing the margin to one again, 54-53, with just under 10 minutes remaining.

"We knew Quinnipiac was going to be a very difficult opponent and they definitely were," said Head Coach Tom Green. "My heart skipped a beat when it came down to one point. We had to look to our seniors and Chad made a good pass to Gordon. Quinnipiac did a great job on the offensive boards and our lack of converting free throws down the stretch almost did us in."

"I told the team after the game that good teams find a way to win and I know we're a good team," said Green.

The Knights advance to the semifinal game of the Tournament, where they will host Robert Morris at the Rothman Center on Sunday, March 5 at 4:00 p.m. The game will be televised live on MSG.