The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team picked up its second-straight win Thursday night as they opened up Northeast Conference play with a victory over Bryant, 78-68, at Stratis Arena in Hackensack. The Knights led the entire way from the 17:19 minute mark of the first half. Bryant was able to cut the lead to one, 49-48, with 10:48 remaining in the contest, but the Knights responded with five straight points and were eventually able to get the lead back to double-digits. With the victory, the Knights improve to 2-3 (1-0 NEC) on the season, while the Bulldogs fall to 1-6 (0-1 NEC) overall.
Senior Kamil Svrdlik (Prerov, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Zlin) (Prerov, Czech Republic) scored a career-high 24 points on 11-for-14 shooting from the field to lead the Knights. Senior Terence Grier (Cranford, NJ/St. Thomas More Prep) (Cranford, NJ) added 18 points, six rebounds and tied a career-high in steals with four, while senior Mike Scott (Philadelphia, PA/Texas Christian) (Philadelphia, PA) scored 17 points and dished out a game-high eight assists. He also went 11-for-12 from the charity stripe. Junior Nate Gibbs (Dallas, TX/DeSoto) (Dallas, TX) chipped in nine points and shared team high honors in rebounding with senior John Galvin (Weston, CT/Weston) (Weston, CT) as they each had seven.
FDU led by as many as 13 in the first half as Svrdlik's layup put them up, 27-14, with 9:19 to go in the half. Bryant was able to cut the lead to six at 36-30 with 2:35 to go before Scott knocked down a three and freshman Mathias Seilund (Dragoer, Denmark/Falkonergaardens Gymnasium) (Dragoer, Denmark) beat the buzzer to end the half to put the Knights up, 41-30, heading into the break.
In the first half, the Knights continued their hot shooting from the Longwood game as they shot a sizzling 55.6 percent (15-for-27) from the field, knocked down 9-of-10 free throws and had 11 assists on the 15 baskets. Bryant shot 40.7 percent from the floor over the first 20 minutes. The Knights also out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 20-9.
Over the first 9:12 of second half, Bryant outscored the Knights, 18-8, to cut the lead to one at 49-48 before Galvin and Grier hit back-to-back layups to give the Knights a five-point cushion.
Sophomore DeShawn Dockery (Chicago, IL/Worcester Academy) (Chicago, IL) put the Knights back up, 62-51, with 5:35 remaining with a layup and had a chance for a three-point play but missed the free throw.
Bryant cut the lead to 69-63 with 1:42 go, but the Knights scored the next six, and Grier gave the exclamation point with coast-to-coast two-handed slam off a steal to give FDU a 75-63 advantage with 40 seconds to go. The Knights then cruised for the 78-68 victory.
The Knights finished the game shooting over 50 percent for the second-straight game as they shot 54.0 percent (27-for50) from the floor. Bryant shot 41. 4 percent and also connected on 12-of-27 three-point attempts.
FDU won the rebounding battle for the third-straight contest as they out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 38-27. Each team finished with 18 assists. The Knights also went to the line 31 times, connecting on 22 free throws, while Bryant went 8-for-12. FDU turned the ball over 15 times, and Bryant turned it over 13 times.
"This was a great way to start the conference season as we got a win," said Head Coach Greg Vetrone. "We have been improving, but we still have a long way go. However, you like to see that as a coach."
Cecil Gresham led Bryant with a game-high 28 points. Frankie Dobbs added 14 for the Bulldogs.
The Knights have a quick turnaround as they host Central Connecticut State for an NEC contest Saturday afternoon at Stratis Arena in Hackensack. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
