Box Score

The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team dropped its 10^th straight game Thursday evening to Wagner, 88-64, at Stratis Arena in Hackensack, NJ.  With the victory, the Seahawks improve to 11-3 (2-1 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 1-12 (0-3 NEC) overall.

Graduate student George Goode (Raytown, MO/Raytown South) led the Knights with a career-best 23 points and just missed his fourth double-double of the season with a game-high nine rebounds.  He made 6-of-11 shots from the field but did most of his damage at the free throw line by sinking a career-high 11 free throws on 12 attempts.

Junior Melquan Bolding (Mt. Vernon, N.Y./Bishop Stepinac) added 12 points and five rebounds, while junior Kinu Rochford (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) came off the bench to chip in with 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks.

Wagner jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead thanks to back-to-back three-pointers by Latif Rivers and Tyler Murray. 

Eight unanswered points by the Knights over the next 2:12 gave the home team an 8-6 lead. 

Goode's turnaround jumper with 15:22 remaining in the opening half gave the Knights a 10-7 lead, but the Seahawks responded with a 12-0 run to take a 19-7 lead at the 12:43 mark of the half. 

The Knights were able to cut the lead to eight on three different occasions, but Wagner extended its run to 29-9 to open up its lead to 36-19 with 5:44 to go before halftime.

The Seahawks eventually outscored the Knights, 35-12, to take their largest lead of the half at 45-24 with 3:48 left before halftime.
FDU scored the last four points of the half to go into the break down 45-28.

Wagner only shot 39.4 percent (13-of-33) over the first 20 minutes but made 6-of-14 from three-point range.  The Knights shot only 34.8 percent (8-of-23) and missed both of their three-point attempts.  FDU did make 12-of-16 free throws, but the Seahawks made 13-of-14.

The Knights also turned the ball over 11 times in the first half, while Wagner turned it over only three times.  The Seahawks also scored 10 points off the Knights' miscues and scored 12 fast break points to FDU's two.

To open the second half, the Knights came out blazing, making six of their first eight shots, and outscored Wagner, 15-5, to cut the lead to 50-39 with 17:38 left in the contest.

However, Goode picked up his fourth foul eight seconds later, and Wagner went on a 15-5 run of its own to go back up 21 at 65-44 with 13:57 to go.

The closest FDU would come was 17 as Wagner cruised to the 88-64 victory.

The Knights shot much better in the second half as they shot 45.8 percent (11-of-24) to finish the game shooting 40.4 percent (19-of-47).  The Seahawks, though, shot even better in the second half (56.7 percent; 17-of-30) to finish the game shooting 47.6 percent (30-of-63).

Wagner also made 9-of-20 three-pointers, while FDU missed all three of its attempts which was one of the differences in the game.

The Knights had their second best night at the free throw line this season percentage wise as they shot 76.5 percent from the line.  FDU established season-highs in both makes (26) and attempts (34).  The Seahawks made 19-of-24 from the charity stripe.

The Knights ended up turning the ball over 21 times compared to nine times for Wagner.  The Seahawks scored 20 points off FDU's miscues and outscored the Knights, 18-4, on fast break opportunities.

FDU won the rebounding battle, 33-30.

“That was an outstanding performance by George (Goode),” Head Coach Greg Vetrone said.  “The game coming up on Saturday against Mount St. Mary's is the biggest game of the year for us.”

Wagner's Jonathon Williams shared game high honors with Goode as he led his squad with 23 points, while grabbing six rebounds.  Rivers added 19 points, and Murray and Kenneth Ortiz chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds as well.  Ortiz dished out a game-high five assists.

The Knights will have a quick turnaround when they host Mount St. Mary's Saturday afternoon in a Northeast Conference clash.  Tip-off at Stratis Arena is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.