Box Score

The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team dropped a shootout Tuesday evening at Lafayette, 85-74, at the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, PA.  With the victory, the Leopards improve to 3-2 on the season, while the Knights fall to 1-3 overall.

FDU led 42-35 at the half before being outscored 50-32 in the second half as Lafayette shot 61.5 percent (16-for-26), including 9-for-15 from three-point range.  The Leopards finished the game shooting 50.8 percent (30-of-59) from the floor and 15-of-32 on three-pointers.
Jim Mower scored 28 of his game-high 37 points in the second half, while knocking down eight three's in the final 20 minutes to finish the game 10-of-13 behind-the-arc which established a new Lafayette program high.

After shooting 48.6 percent (18-for-37), including 6-of-11 from three-point range over the first 20 minutes, the Knights cooled off somewhat in the second half as they only shot 44.4 percent (12-for-27) from the floor but only made 1-of-4 three's.

Junior Melquan Bolding (Mt. Vernon, N.Y./Bishop Stepinac) led FDU with a career-high 33 points on 12-of-24 shooting, including 5-of-8 from three-point range.  He also grabbed seven rebounds.

Junior Lonnie Hayes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Harmony Prep) added 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting, while grad student George Goode (Raytown, MO/Raytown South) added 10 points and tied a career high with a team-high nine rebounds.

FDU started the game quickly as Bolding knocked down two quick three's with Hayes adding one as well to give the visitors a 9-4 lead.
Lafayette scored five straight to tie the game and eventually took a two-point lead before the Knights tied the game at 17 on a Hayes' one-handed bank shot with 10:09 remaining in the first half.

After the Leopards scored the next four points, FDU went on a 13-0 run as Hayes' three started the scoring. 

Bolding, who scored six points during the stretch, capped the run with a layup to give the Knights a 30-21 lead with 3:57 to go in the first half.

During the run, FDU held Lafayette scoreless for nearly five minutes.

Mower' second three of the half cut the Knights' lead to five, but FDU responded with five-straight points as Lonnie Robinson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach)'s runner in the lane gave the squad its largest lead of the game at 42-32 with 38 seconds before halftime.

Nick Petkovich's three-pointer right before the final horn of the first half cut Knights' lead to seven and gave the Leopards the entire momentum heading into the break.

Bolding scored 18 points, while Hayes added 12 in the first half to pace FDU.  The Knights were able to outscore the Leopards in the paint, 20-12, and scored 10 points off seven Lafayette turnovers.

The home team used the three at the end of the half to score the next six points on back-to-back three's from Mower to cut the FDU lead to 42-41.

A Goode turnaround jumper started a 9-2 run for the Knights as Bolding's three-pointer stretched the lead back out to eight at 51-43 with 16:13 remaining in the game.

Lafayette then caught fire after as they outscored the Knights, 30-6, over the next nine minutes.  Mower scored 17 points during the run; including five three's with the last one giving the Leopards a 73-57 lead with 7:14 to play.

FDU was able to cut the deficit to nine on three occasions but could not get any closer as Lafayette cruised to the 85-74 victory.

“I thought we played really well offensively in the first half,” Head Coach Greg Vetrone said.  “In the second half we did not play well defensively and have to continue to get better at that end.  I thought Melquan was really in rhythm shooting the ball tonight, especially in the first half.”

The Leopards also won the rebounding battle by one, 35-34, and assisted on 20 of their 30 made field goals, while the Knights picked up 11 assits.  FDU did scored 36 points in the paint and scored 20 points off 15 Lafayette turnovers.

The Knights will return to action on Sunday, Nov. 27, when they travel north to the state capital of New York to take on Albany.  Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. and will be broadcast live on www.fduknights.com.