Four Knights scored in double-digits to lead the Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team convincingly past Saint Francis PA, 79-61, at DeGol Arena in Loretto, PA on Saturday night. Senior Eric Hazard (Long Branch, NJ/St. Benedict's) notched a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while both seniors Bernell Murray (Stillwater, OK/Stillwater) and Manny Ubilla (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) recorded 20-point games, recording 21 and 23, respectively. The 21 points from Murray were a season-high. Sophomore Sean Baptiste (North Brunswick, NJ/St. Josephs of Metuchen) added 10 points.
Ubilla grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five assists, never turning the ball over.
Freshman DeJuan Pursley (Leonia, NJ/Leonia) converted an old-fashioned three-point play to cap the Knights' 8-3 run to start the game. FDU was able to stretch it to a 15-7 lead on Hazard's second trey of the first five minutes, followed by a long jumper from Murray.
Fairleigh Dickinson used a 10-0 run to take a commanding 20-7 lead on a pair from the line by Murray and was able to extend the gap to 14 points on Ubilla's pull-up three-pointer (26-12) with just under 11 minutes remaining in the half.
After a give-and-go between Baptiste and Murray and another trey from Hazard, FDU was able to stake claim to a 33-17 lead, its largest of the half, with 7:18 left in the first frame.
The Red Flash posted an 11-3 run to cut the Knights' lead down to 36-30 entering into the break.
Both Ubilla and Hazard entered the half with nine points, each on a trio of three-point field goals. Hazard led the Knights on the boards in the first 20 minutes, grabbing seven rebounds.
FDU shot 45 percent in the first half, while holding St. Francis to 37 percent.
The Knights were able to keep their momentum, staging a 13-2 run to open the second stanza, taking a 49-32 lead.
Fairleigh Dickinson out-scored the Red Flash, 8-1, over a four minute span, capped by a pair from behind the arc by Murray, for a dominating 21-point lead, 59-38.
Baptiste connected on a three to cap another FDU run, 10-4, to give the Knights a 76-52 advantage with 2:11 on the clock.
Fairleigh Dickinson posted a 79-54 advantage with 1:30 left to play and St. Francis scored the final seven points of the half to make the final score 79-61.
FDU shot 64 percent from three-point range in the second half (7-for-11), finishing the game with 13 three-pointers and holding the Red Flash to only four.
The Knights swatted six blocks and held a slight edge on the boards, 37-36. FDU connected on 78 percent from the charity stripe, while Saint Francis netted only 54 percent.
“The last few games we've had guys out and been under-manned,” said Head Coach Tom Green. “We definitely are better than we showed at Robert Morris. They are a very good team, but not 50 points better.”
“Tonight we executed our offense,” said Green. “Having Sean [Baptiste] back in our lineup gave us three starting guards and we were able to handle, shoot and distribute the ball better. Bernell [Murray] had a great night for us and Manny [Ubilla] as well.”
Fairleigh Dickinson shot 50 percent from the floor, while holding the Red Flash to 35 percent. Saint Francis out-scored Fairleigh Dickinson's bench, 14-0.
The Knights return home to host Mount St. Mary's on Feb. 14 at 7:00 p.m.
