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The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team will look to win the backend of its home-and-home series with the Hawks of Monmouth to conclude the Garden State Rivalry Series that is part of NEC Rivalry Week.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Multipurpose Activity Center in West Long Branch, NJ.   

The contest between the Knights and the Hawks will conclude the third annual NEC Rivalry Week which runs from Feb. 8 – Feb. 15.  After the winner of the second women's basketball game between the two schools on Feb. 15, the school who scores the most points in both the men's and women's basketball games will take home the Governor Cody Trophy.
 
Last Time Out
The Knights (2-22, 1-12 NEC) and Hawks kicked off NEC Rivalry Week this past Wednesday with a showdown at Stratis Arena that saw Monmouth cruise to a 75-62 victory as they led wire to wire.  The biggest difference in the game was first half shooting as Monmouth shot 54.5 percent (18-of-33) over the first 20 minutes including a blistering 80 percent (8-of-10) from three-point range.  The Hawks connected on their first six three's of the game as they went into halftime leading 49-29.  The Knights shot only 35.5 percent (11-of-31) and knocked down 3-of-8 from behind the arc.  Monmouth also forced the Knights into 17 turnovers and scored 21 points off FDU's miscues throughout the contest.
 
After leading 49-29 at the half, The Hawks shooting in the second half was a different story as they only shot 20 percent (5-of-25) over the final 20 minutes, but they did make 3-of-5 three pointers.  The FDU defense picked up as they limited Monmouth to only five points over the first 10 minutes of the second half but its shooting woes continued as they were only able to outscore the Hawks, 13-5, over the first six minutes after halftime.  After a three-pointer by junior Melquan Bolding (Mt. Vernon, N.Y./Bishop Stepinac) cut the lead to 54-42 with 14:04 remaining, the Knights could not take advantage over the next three minutes to cut into the lead.  Junior Lonnie Robinson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) converted a layup to cut the lead to 10 at 54-44 with 10:55 to go, but Monmouth was able to score the next five points to extend its lead back out to 15 at 59-44 with 9:02 remaining in the contest.  FDU cut the lead to 10 on two different occasions with the last time coming on Bolding jumper.  His basket cut the lead to 61-51 at the 5:31 mark of the second half.  The Hawks, who made 13-of-14 free throws in the second half, made all six of their attempts in the final five minutes to hang on for the 75-62 victory.  Monmouth converted 90 percent (18-of-20) of its free throws for the game.  They also made two of their three second half trey balls over the last five minutes.  The Knights shot 40.7 percent (11-of-27) in the second half to finish the game shooting 37.9 percent (22-of-58).  They made only 4-of-12 from three-point range over the final 20 minutes to finish 35 percent (7-of-20) from behind the arc.  FDU also went 11-of-15 from the charity stripe.  After their hot first half, the Hawks ended up shooting 39.7 percent (23-of-58), but they made 11-of-15 three-pointers.
 
Bolding came off the bench to score a game-high 17 points to lead the Knights.  Graduate Student George Goode (Raytown, MO/Raytown South) added 16 points and six rebounds.  Robinson chipped in 12 points and a team-high five assists, while senior Briahn Smith (Detroit, MI/Madison) tallied 11 points.  Junior Kinu Rochford (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds and registered a game-high three blocks.
 
Scouting Monmouth: The Hawks (8-18, 6-7 NEC), who were picked to finish tenth in the Northeast Conference, currently sits in a two-way tie for seventh place and would make the NEC Tournament if it started today.  Monmouth had a three-game win streak snapped this past Saturday to Quinnipiac at home, 71-48.  The Hawks are playing their best basketball of the season after starting out 0-8 under first-year head coach King Rice.  They have won five out of their last seven after going 3-16 over their first 19 contests.  Monmouth and FDU have common non-conference opponents in Albany and Lafayette and both programs lost by double-digits to each team.
 
Senior Jesse Steele leads the Hawks in scoring at 12.6 ppg and has dished out a team-best 99 assists.  He is shooting 35.3 percent (49-of-139) from three-point range and 83.6 percent (51-of-61) from the free throw line.  Junior Ed Waite is the team's leading rebounder at 5.6 rpg and is shooting 46.1 percent (71-of-154) from the field. 

All-Time Series: This will be the 69th meeting between the Garden State institutions as they have competed against each other at least once every year since the 1978-79 season.  The Knights hold a 37-31 advantage in the series which started during the 1972-73 campaign.  The Hawks swept the season-series last season as they won both contests by 11 during the second annual NEC Rivalry Week.  Two seasons ago, FDU swept both contests during the inaugural rivalry week to earn a four-game win streak against its rival and victories in seven the past eight games in the series.  The Knights are 16-14 all-time at Monmouth including 1-1 in the Multipurpose Athletic Center.