The Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team swept the series against intrastate rival Monmouth, picking up a 71-65 win in West Long Branch, NJ in a game televised live on MSG on Saturday afternoon. The Knights improve to 8-16 on the season, including a 7-5 mark in Northeast Conference action, while the Hawks fall to 10-14 this season with a 6-6 record in league play.
Sean Baptiste (North Brunswick, NJ/St. Josephs of Metuchen) had his fourth-straight 20-point game with 24 points on 8-for-15 shooting. Alvin Mofunanya (Englewood, NJ/Dwight Morrow) recorded his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds and Mike Scott (Philadelphia, PA/Texas Christian) had 18 points and seven assists, with only two turnovers, while swiping seven steals. John Galvin (Weston, CT/Weston) was just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds, adding two blocks.
The Knights took a 7-6 lead five minutes into the game on a lay-up from Mofunanya, but the Hawks reclaimed the lead on a trey from Justin Sofman.
Mofunanya scored the Knights' next six points and Baptiste sank a three from the top of the key to knot the game at 14-14 with eight minutes remaining in the half.
Monmouth staged a 7-2 run to take a 21-16 advantage with six and a half minutes left, but FDU reeled off five straight as Baptiste drained one from just inside the arc and Scott drove to the basket and hit the free throw after to knot the game again.
Scott went 3-for-3 from the line in a two minute stretch, Galvin had a put-back and with 10 seconds on the clock, Baptiste sank a three-pointer from the corner to put the Knights ahead, 28-25, heading into the break.
Baptiste led the Knights in the first half with 10 points, connecting on 4-for-6 from the floor, while Mofunanya added eight and Scott had seven. Scott had six steals in the first 20 minutes.
In a first half that saw four ties and five lead changes, Monmouth out-scored Fairleigh Dickinson in the paint, 12-6, but FDU held a 15-2 edge in points off of turnovers. Will Campbell had nine points to lead the Hawks, while Ed Waite pulled down nine first-half rebounds.
Monmouth came out of the break firing, scoring the first seven points of the half to retake the lead. The Hawks stretched their run to 12-4 over the first four minutes to start the first half, taking a 37-32 lead.
Baptiste netted a fast-break lay-up after earning possession for the Knights with an out-of-bounds hustle play, throwing it off a defender. Baptiste was fouled grabbing an offensive rebound and made both shots to make it a one-point game, 43-42, with nine minutes remaining in the game.
A shot from behind the arc by Scott gave Fairleigh Dickinson the lead, 49-47, with under seven minutes to play. Over the next three minutes, the two teams traded baskets as there were three more ties. A three-point play by Baptiste gave FDU the 54-51 edge.
With four seconds on the shot clock, Scott drained a three-pointer from the top of the arc and Scott's steal led to a fast break lay-up from Baptiste.
After a block by Galvin on the defensive end, Baptiste and Galvin each sank one from the line, giving the Knights a 62-56 edge with 2:10 minutes on the clock.
But Sofman pulled up and sank a three for the Hawks to make it a two-point game with a minute to go.
Mofunanya was sent to the line for two free throws, making both to make it a five-point game with under a minute to play, but Ed Waite put in a lay-up on the other end to cut the lead.
Campbell connected on two from the line to cut the Knights' lead to two, 67-65, with 34.5 seconds on the clock. But Scott sank both of his free throws with 31 seconds remaining and Baptiste did the same with 14 seconds remaining, giving FDU the 75-65 win.
The Knights were out-rebounded, 44-40. FDU shot 41 percent in the second half to finish the game shooting 37 percent.
This was the 65th meeting between the two teams, with FDU holding a 38-37 edge in the all-time series. The Knights swept the series last season as well, with the last Monmouth win coming in 2008.
The victory gave Fairleigh Dickinson a 2-1 edge in the Garden State Rivalry Series, the winner of which receives the Governor Codey Cup. The winner is determined by the overall record of the four games (two men's basketball games, two women's basketball games) this season. In the event of a tie, point total is used to determine the winner.
"This is a huge win for us," said Head Coach Greg Vetrone. "This is our second road win. Monmouth is a very well-coached team that plays very well at home. We had to try and take them out of their rhythm. We hung in there in the first half and our guys stuck together- this was really a team win."
The Knights are back in action when they host Longwood in non-conference action on Monday, Feb. 8 at 7:00 p.m.
