Box Score

The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball suffered a hard-fought loss Thursday evening at LIU Brooklyn, 82-64, in Northeast Conference play at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center in downtown Brooklyn, NY.  With the victory, the Blackbirds improve to 11-6 (5-0 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 1-14 (0-5 NEC) overall after their 12 lost in a row.

The game was closer than the final score indicated.  The biggest difference in the game came at the free throw line where LIU went to the charity strip 36 times (making 27), while the Knights went only 5-for-12 from the line.  In the second half, the Blackbirds went to the line 21 times compared to only three times for FDU.  The Knights were whistled for a season-high 27 fouls with LIU only being called for 12.

The Blackbirds also went 9-for-18 from three-point range, while FDU shot 5-for-14 from behind the arc.

Junior Lonnie Robinson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) had a breakout game for the Knights as he scored a career-high 25 points (15 in the first half) on 10-of18 shooting, including 5-of-9 from three-point range.  He also grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds for his first career double-double.

Graduate student George Goode (Raytown, MO/Raytown South) continued his solid play of late with his fourth double-double of the season.  The big man scored 17 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds.  Junior Melquan Bolding (Mt. Vernon, N.Y./Bishop Stepinac) chipped in with 14 points for the Knights.

LIU raced out to a quick 9-0 lead, prompting Head Coach Greg Vetrone to call a 30-second timeout two minutes into the game.

After Robinson's first three of the game put the Knights on the scoreboard, the Blackbirds went on a 14-4 run to take a 23-7 lead with exactly 14 minutes to go before halftime.

Two free throws by Bolding cut the lead to 25-15 before LIU scored seven-straight points to go up 32-15 with 9:31 left in the first half.

However, FDU answered with an 8-0 run courtesy of seven straight points from Goode and a Bolding free throw to get the Knights to within nine at 32-23 with 6:41 to go before the break.

The Blackbirds were able to stretch the lead back to 12 but a Bolding put back and a Goode dunk right before the half cut the deficit to 44-36 heading into the locker rooms.

FDU shot the ball well in the first half as they went 14-of-31 (45.2 percent) from the floor.  They also went 3-of-6 from downtown but only 5-of-9 from the free throw line.

LIU shot 42.4 percent (14-of-33) over the first 20 minutes but shot 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from three-point range and made 10-of-15 free throws.

Ten seconds into the second half, Goode scored a layup to cut the lead to 44-38.  After LIU made a free throw, Goode scored on a jump hook to get the Knights to within five at 45-40 nearly a minute into the second half.

LIU was then able to extend the lead back out to 10 on three different occasions.  Down 10, Bolding connected on back-to-back buckets to cut the lead back to six at 54-48 with 11:54 remaining in the contest.

Down eight, Robinson knocked down a jumper and was fouled, giving himself a chance for a three-point play to cut the lead back to five.  However, he missed the free throw, but the Knights were still down 58-52 with 9:22 to go.

Then the fouls started to pile up for the Knights.  On the next LIU possession, junior Kinu Rochford (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) fouled out with 8:48 left in the game which resulted in two made free throws for the Blackbirds.  Next time down on defense for the Knights, graduate student Mouhamed Lo (Port Chester, NY/Port Chester ) fouled out with 8:23 left on the clock.  Two more free throws by LIU gave them a 62-52 lead.

The Blackbirds then took off after that and stretched their lead to 70-54 with 5:39 left in the contest thanks to a 12-2 spurt.
The lead eventually reached 22 before the Knights cut it back down for the 82-64 final.

Both teams shot dreadful in the second half with the Knights shooting 34.2 percent (13-of-38) and only 2-of-8 from downtown.  LIU shot even worse at 29.0 percent (9-of-31) but made 3-of-7 from three-point range.

As mentioned before, LIU went 17-of-21 from the free throw line in the second half, while the Knights went 0-for-3.

The Knights won the rebounding battle, 48-45, and only turned the ball over 12 times.  They also dominated in the paint, outscoring the Blackbirds, 38-18.  LIU only turned it over eight times.

“We played a lot harder tonight,” Vetrone said.  “George Goode (Raytown, MO/Raytown South) is emerging as one of the premiere big men in this league.  He brings it night in and night out on a consistent basis.”

All five-starters from LIU scored in double-figures.  C.J. Garner led the way with 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds.  Jamal Olasewere added 15 points and seven rebounds.  Jason Brickman and Julian Boyd added 14 points each with Boyd grabbing eight rebounds.  Michael Culpo rounded out the scoring with 13 points.

The Knights will have a quick turnaround when they head back to Brooklyn on Saturday to face the Terriers of St. Francis NY in a Northeast Conference showdown.  Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.