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Game Notes
The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team will play on its home floor for the first time in over a month when they host the Catamounts of Vermont. Wednesday evening's tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Stratis Arena in Hackensack, NJ.
The Knights (1-8) will be looking to end a six-game losing skid as their only victory this season happened the last time they played at home, defeating Saint Peter's, 73-62, on Nov. 18.
FDU has not competed since Dec. 10 when it played respectable basketball at nationally-ranked Louisville (No. 4 ESPN/USA Today, No. 5 Associated Press) in an 80-58 loss. Although the Knights never really threatened, there were still some positives as they held the Cardinals to under 43 percent shooting and 31 percent shooting from three-point range. FDU also only turned the ball over 12 times, the second fewest amount of turnovers in a game this season.
Grad student George Goode (Raytown, MO/Raytown South), who was making a return to his alma mater after playing three seasons and graduating last summer, did not disappoint as he picked up his third consecutive double-double with 17 points, while tying a career high with 12 rebounds. Junior Melquan Bolding (Mt. Vernon, N.Y./Bishop Stepinac) led the Knights with 23 points and tied a season high with five three-pointers. Junior Kinu Rochford (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) came off the bench to grab 10 rebounds, while junior Lonnie Hayes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Harmony Prep) tied a career best with six assists.
The Knights currently sport four players averaging double-figures, the most of any team in the NEC. Bolding leads the way with 15.4 ppg, followed by Hayes with 14.1 ppg and Goode with 11.3 ppg. Rochford rounds out the double-digit contingent with 10.1 ppg.
Scouting Vermont: The Catamounts (4-7), who were picked to finish third in the America East Conference, are currently riding a five-game losing streak after starting the season out 4-2. Vermont is coming off a tough loss at home to Iona this past Saturday, 73-72. During their losing streak, the Catamounts have lost at home to Harvard (55-48), at Yale (68-52), at Saint Louis (62-43) at home to NEC-foe Quinnipiac (62-58) and Iona. Vermont last won on Nov. 26, a 64-62 home victory over Siena. The Catamounts were also defeated by NEC preseason favorite Long Island on November 20, 80-75, at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off in Uncasville, CT.
Vermont has very balanced scoring as five players average anywhere from 7.5 ppg to 11.4 ppg. Freshman Four McClynn, who has come off the bench in all 11 games, leads the team in scoring at 11.4 ppg. He also leads the team with 17 three-point field goals (37.0 percent) and is shooting 84.8 percent (28-of-33) from the free throw line. Sophomore Luke Apfeld is the second-leading scorer for the Catamounts, averaging 10.2 ppg and is also shooting 61.1 percent (44-of-72) from the field. Senior Matt Glass is averaging a shade under 10 ppg (9.9) and is shooting 39.5 percent (15-of-38) from three-point range. Sophomore Brian Voelkel leads the team in rebounding at 8.1 rpg and has also dished out a team-leading 52 assists.
All-Time Series: This will only be the third meeting between the schools with both teams each winning a game on their home floor. The last time the two teams met was nearly 30 years ago as the Catamounts defeated the Knights, 89-82, on Feb. 2, 1982 in Burlington, VT. The only other contest played was the season before as the Knights hung on for an 82-78 home victory on Feb. 13, 1981.
