Box Score

The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team dropped its fifth straight contest Saturday night as they fell to Monmouth, 82-68, in an NEC Rivalry Week matchup at the Multipurpose Activity Center in West Long Branch, NJ.  With the victory, the Hawks improve to 9-18 (7-7 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 2-23 (1-13 NEC) overall.

Junior Melquan Bolding (Mt. Vernon, N.Y./Bishop Stepinac) led the Knights with 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field.  He also dished out four assists.  Graduate student George Goode (Raytown, MO/Raytown South) added 16 points and three blocked shots, and senior Briahn Smith (Detroit, MI/Madison) came off the bench to chip in 14 points, grab a game-high eight rebounds and record four assists. 

The Knights had a great shooting night as they shot 50.9 percent (28-of-55) from the floor including a 56.7 percent (17-of-30) showing over the first 20 minutes.  The Hawks also shot the ball well as they finished the game at 49.2 percent (31-of-63).  They also had a hot first half as they shot 53.1 percent (17-of-32) before halftime.

Both teams nailed six three-pointers, but the difference in the game came at the free throw line where Monmouth went 14-of-22, while FDU made 6-of-9.  The Hawks also owned the glass as they out-rebounded the Knights, 39-26. 

Monmouth raced out to a quick 7-0 lead and eventually led 14-5 going into the first media timeout with 15:50 remaining before halftime. 

Trailing by eight, FDU was able to cut the lead to three at 19-16 with 11:11 left in the first half.  With the Knights still down three at 27-24, the Hawks went on a 9-2 run to extend their lead to 36-26 with 4:25 to go before halftime.

Down 43-32, FDU outscored Monmouth, 7-2, the rest of the half to go into the break down 45-39.

Two jumpers by Bolding to start the second half cut the lead to four, and a three-pointer by Smith put the Knights down one, 47-46, with 17:27 left in the contest.

After Bolding knocked down a pair of free throws to keep FDU within one point at 51-50, the Hawks began to separate themselves as a 17-4 run gave them a 68-54 lead with 9:42 remaining in the game.  Two free throws by Goode cut the lead to three at 57-54, but
Monmouth scored the next 11 points.

The closest the Knights would get the rest of the way was eight as the Hawks used the run to cruise to the 82-68 victory.

“We shot the ball much better tonight than we did on Wednesday,” Head Coach Greg Vetrone said.  “More times than not you are going to win games when you shoot the ball over 50 percent but not when you give up 82 points.”

Jesse Steele and Marcus Ware each scored 14 points to lead Monmouth, while Ware pulled down seven rebounds. Ed Waite and Mike Myers Keitt each added 12 points for the Hawks. 

The Knights will return to action on Thursday, Feb. 16 when they travel to Emmitsburg, MD to take on Mount St. Mary's.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and will be televised on Fox College Sports, MASN and ESPN3.