The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team suffered its toughest defeat of the season Thursday night, 74-71, in Smithfield, RI versus Bryant. Frankie Dobbs of the Bulldogs broke the Knights' heart with his seventh three-pointer of the game with 2.4 seconds left to give Bryant the victory. FDU was out of timeouts and time expired by the time they were able to get off a shot. The game featured 14 ties and 12 lead changes. With the victory, Bryant improves to 6-13 (4-3 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 4-13 (2-5 NEC) overall.
Senior Mike Scott (Philadelphia, PA/Texas Christian) led the Knights with 20 points, including 17 in the second half, and knocked down a career-high five three-pointers on nine attempts. He also dished out a game-high seven assists. Senior Kamil Svrdlik (Prerov, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Zlin) added 17 points (12 in the first half) and grabbed a game-high six rebounds. Senior John Galvin (Weston, CT/Weston) chipped in 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
With the scored tied at 56, Bryant scored eight-straight points to take a 64-56 lead with 4:11 to go in the game. However, the Knights responded with a 10-1 run as Scott's layup put the Knights ahead, 66-65, with 2:11 remaining.
After Bryant went up 71-68, Scott drained a three-pointer off an inbounds pass from fellow classmate Terence Grier (Cranford, NJ/St. Thomas More Prep) to tie the game at 71 with 24 seconds to go, setting up the dramatic game-winning shot by Dobbs.
Svrdlik was a huge force to start the game for the Knights as he scored nine of the Knights first 11 points. After trailing 6-5, the Knights took the lead on a Galvin layup.
Scott's trey ball extended the Knights lead to 14-8 with 12:15 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs then outscored FDU, 9-3, to tie the game at 17.
The Knights scored the next six points on a Svrdlik layup and back-to-back jumpers from freshman Tyler Reynolds (Eugene, OR/Sheldon) to go up 23-17 with 7:05 to go in the half.
Reynolds third jumper of the half gave the Knights their largest lead of the game, 30-22, with 3:22 left in the half.
However, Bryant closed the half on a 10-3 run, and the Knights went into halftime up one, 33-32.
The Knights, who at one point were shooting 58 percent from the floor, finished the half shooting 48.3 percent (14-of-29) and out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 18-11.
FDU shot even better in the second half (56.5 percent) and finished the game shooting 51.9 percent (27-of-52). However, the Bulldogs were lights out as well, shooting 54.9 percent (28-of-51) for the game. The Knights won the rebounding battle, 30-22, and distributed 15 assists for the second game in a row. FDU also turned the ball over 15 times.
"Our effort was better tonight," said Head Coach Greg Vetrone. "Kamil (Svrdlik) and Mike (Scott) played well. We can't let their best guard score 25 on us and beat us."
Dobbs led all scorers with 25 points. Alex Francis added 16 points, while Cecil Gresham chipped in 13.
The victory by Bryant avenges a 78-68 loss to the Knights earlier this season back in December.
The Knights road trip will continue on Saturday, Jan. 22, when they travel to New Britain, CT to take on Central Connecticut State. The Knights defeated the Blue Devils, 48-46, on Dec. 4. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
