The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team tied a season high with its ninth-straight loss Saturday afternoon as they fell to Monmouth, 62-51, in Stratis Arena in Hackensack. With the victory, the Hawks improve to 8-18 (4-10 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 4-21 (2-12 NEC) overall.
Senior John Galvin (Weston, CT/Weston) (Weston, CT) led the Knights with 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Senior Mike Scott (Philadelphia, PA/Texas Christian) (Philadelphia, PA) added 10 points and four assists. Senior Kamil Svrdlik (Prerov, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Zlin) (Prerov, Czech Republic) pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Knights started off quickly as Scott's three-pointer gave the squad their largest lead of the game at 13-6 with 14:57 to go in the first half.
The Hawks then scored eight-straight points to take a 14-13 lead.
The score see-sawed back-and-forth until the Hawks took at 10-point lead on a 13-3 run to take their largest lead of the half, 31-21, with 3:54 remaining. The run lasted five minutes and 59 seconds.
The Knights fought back to cut the score to 35-29 at the half.
The Hawks opened up the second half with a 13-4 run to take a 48-33 lead with 10:20 to go in the game. Galvin's layup cut the lead to 48-39 with 5:53 to go, but that was the closest the Knights would come.
Monmouth eventually took the lead back to 16 points and cruised to the 62-51 victory.
The Knights and Hawks almost shot identical from the floor. FDU went 20-of-48 (41.7 percent), while Monmouth shot 41.4 percent (24-of-58).
One of the biggest differences in the game was turnovers at the Knights turned the ball over 15 times, while the Hawks only gave it away seven times. The Hawks also outscored the Knights in the paint, 34-20, and won the rebounding battle, 37-31. The Knights did assist on 15 on their 20 baskets.
The Hawks' Mike Myers Keitt led all scorers with 15 points. Jesse Steele and Ed Waite added 12 points, while Phil Wait chipped in 10.
The Knights return to action on Thursday, Feb. 17, when they host Robert Morris at Stratis Arena in Hackensack at 7:00 p.m. It will be the second-to-last home game for FDU.
Game Notes: FDU had its winter homecoming during the game... The game was televised live on MSG... The attendance was a season-high 2,283... The game was the back end of a home-and-home series that was a part of NEC Rivalry Week... Galvin was honored before the game for grabbing his 500th rebound in the game at Monmouth this past Wednesday, Feb. 9.
