The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team picked up its first victory of the season as they held on to defeat Longwood Monday night, 83-78, in Farmville, VA. After leading by as many as 20 in both halves and by 19 at the break, the Knights held off a furious Longwood rally that saw them tie the game at 63 with 6:47 remaining. With the game knotted at 72 with 1:50 to go, the Lancers missed the second of two free throws that would have given them the lead. The Knights then outscored the home team, 11-6, to close the game and went 9-for-10 from the charity line over that stretch to seal the win. With the victory, the Knights improve to 1-3 on the season, while the Lancers fall to 3-4 overall.
Five Knights scored in double figures as senior Mike Scott (Philadelphia, PA/Texas Christian) led the way with 21 points. He just missed a triple-double for the second straight game as he finished with a game-high 10 assists and nine rebounds. Senior Terence Grier (Cranford, NJ/St. Thomas More Prep) added 17 points and six rebounds. Freshman Mathias Seilund (Dragoer, Denmark/Falkonergaardens Gymnasium) and senior Kamil Svrdlik (Prerov, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Zlin) each had 11 points. Svrdlik picked up his second double-double of the season with a team-high 12 rebounds. Junior Nate Gibbs (Dallas, TX/DeSoto) chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds.
Longwood scored the first eight points of the game before Grier scored on a layup to put the Knights on the board at the 17:00 mark of the first half.
The Knights were able to fight back and took their first lead of the game on a two-handed slam by Grier to go up, 16-15.
With the score tied at 23 with 9:01 to go in the half, the Knights went on a 31-12 run to close the half, capped by a Scott three-pointer at the horn, to go into halftime up, 54-35.
Nine Knights scored during the first 20 minutes. Scott led the way with 15 points, dished out eight assists and collected five rebounds. Grier added 12 points. Svrdlik led the squad with eight rebounds and chipped in eight points.
The Knights shot a sizzling 66.7 percent (22-for-33) in the first half. They also went 5-for-6 from three-point range. FDU held Longwood to only 35.7 percent from the floor and 21.4 percent from long distance. Each team collected 21 rebounds turned the ball over seven times. The Knights assisted on 13 of their 22 baskets. FDU also scored 32 points in the paint, 14 off turnovers and 15 on the fast break.
In the second half, Longwood switched to a zone that frustrated the Knights. With the Knights up, 59-39, with 16:37 to go, the Lancers went on a 24-4 run over the next 9:50 to tie the game at 63. Seilund then scored the next seven points and gave FDU a 70-65 lead after his three-point play with 4:06 to go.
After Longwood missed a free throw to give them a lead with the game tied at 72, Grier put the Knights up for good with a tough jumper in the lane with 1:20 to go. The Knights then knocked down their free throws down the stretch to earn their first victory, 83-78.
FDU finished the game shooting 55.8 percent (29-for-52) from the field and connected on 5-of-8 from behind-the-arc. They held the Lancers to 38.6 percent (27-for-70) and 33.3 percent from three-point range. The Knights also out-rebounded the Lancers, 44-37, to win the rebounding battle for the second straight game. They finished with 15 assists.
Longwood also have five guys in double-figures. Antwan Carter and Martiz Washington each had 14 points to lead the Lancers. Carter also had a game-high 14 rebounds.
"That was a total team effort as we had five guys score in double figures," said Head Coach Greg Vetrone. "We did what we had to do to win on the road. We out-rebounded them, made 9-of-10 free throws down the stretch and limited them on the offense glass in the second half."
"We still need to cut down on turnovers. Nineteen is way too many. However, the way the game was played, we gutted it out at the end. We could have easily given it away, but we found a way to win."
The Knights return to action on Thursday, Dec. 2, as they return to Stratis Arena to open NEC play against Bryant at 7:00 p.m.
