Box Score
 
The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team earned its first victory of the season as they defeated Saint Peter's, 73-62, at Stratis Arena in Hackensack, NJ on Friday night.  With the victory, the Knights improve to 1-2 on the season, while the Peacocks fall to 0-3 overall.
 
The Knights, who shot 56.5 percent from the field (26-of-46), including a blistering 61.5 percent in the second half (16-of-26), had four players score in double figures.  Grad student George Goode (Raytown, MO/Raytown South) led the way with a career-best 16 points, while juniors Kinu Rochford (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison), Melquan Bolding (Mt. Vernon, N.Y./Bishop Stepinac) and Lonnie Hayes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Harmony Prep) scored 15, 14 and 11 points, respectively.
 
Defensively, FDU held Saint Peter's to only 34.3 percent (23-of-67) shooting and only 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from three-point range.
 
After the Knights took an early 4-0 lead, the Peacocks scored eight-straight points.  The lead was extended to five before back-to-back buckets by Goode cut the deficit to 11-10 with 11:34 remaining in the first half.
 
A three-pointer by senior Briahn Smith (Detroit, MI/Madison) from the right corner gave the Knights the lead back, and Rochford's layup off a nice pass from Bolding in the fast break gave FDU a 21-15 advantage at the 6:21 mark.
 
Saint Peter's went on a mini 8-2 run to tie the game at 23 with 2:59 left in the half, but a three-point play by Rochford and a jumper by Goode near the end of the half gave the Knights a 28-23 heading into the break.
 
Goode's 10 points and Rochford's nice paced the Knights' offense over the first 20 minutes as they shot an even 50 percent (10-for-20) from the floor.
 
To open the second half, FDU went on a 7-0 run with junior Lonnie Robinson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) scoring five points to give the home team a 35-23 lead. 
 
The Peacocks were able to cut the lead to 10 on a Jack Hill dunk with 13:48 remaining in the second half, but an 8-0 run by the Knights (six points by Bolding) gave them their largest lead of the game, 50-32, with 11:45 remaining in the game.
 
A 17-6 run by Saint Peter's over a four and a half minute stretch cut FDU's lead to 56-49 with 6:47 to go. 
 
However, a three-point play by Hayes sparked a 9-1 run, which was capped by a tip-in by Rochford, gave the Knights a 65-50 advantage with 4:37 remaining in the game.
 
The Knights were able to hang on the rest of the way for its first victory of the season, 73-62.
 
“This was a great win for us against a MAAC team,” Head Coach Greg Vetrone said.  “We had balanced scoring, and George Goode (Raytown, MO/Raytown South) was a key factor for us tonight.  He was able to get established early and that helped tremendously.”
 
“We have had two great crowds over our first two home games, and I am very excited about that.  Lonnie Hayes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Harmony Prep) did a great job of controlling the tempo of the game.”
 
Despite having 19 turnovers, FDU was able to dish out 17 assists with Goode and Bolding each recording five.  Hayes registered four steals to help force Saint Peter's into 16 turnovers.
 
Although the Peacocks won the rebounding battle, 38-34, Goode was able to corral nine boards to lead the Knights.  Rochford added seven rebounds and a game-high two blocks and two steals.
 
One of the biggest differences in the game came at the charity stripe as FDU canned 19-of-28 free throws, while Saint Peter's went only 8-for16.
 
Hill led the Peacocks with 15 points.  Chris Prescott added 14 points, while Lamin Fulton, Karee Ferguson and Yvon Raymond chipped in 12, 10 and 10 points, respectively.  Ferguson pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds with Raymond adding nine.
 
The Knights will return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 22, when they hit the road for the first of seven consecutive road contests.  FDU will take on Lafayette at 7:00 p.m. in Easton, PA.  The game will be broadcast live on www.fduknights.com.