Box Score

The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team ended its season on a positive note as they upset St. Francis NY, 45-44, in a defensive struggle at Stratis Arena in Hackensack, NJ on Saturday afternoon.  With the victory, the Knights finish the season 3-26 (2-16 NEC), while the Terriers will enter the NEC Tournament as the No. 4 seed with a record of 15-14 (12-6 NEC).

Trailing 40-38 with 3:05 remaining in the contest, junior Kinu Rochford (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) scored on a layup to tie the game at 40.

Rochford then put FDU up 42-40 as he made a layup and had a chance for a three-point play as he was fouled on the play.  He missed the free throw, but the Knights had the lead with 1:55 left in the game.

With 41 seconds remaining, Rochford missed a short jump shot, but junior Melquan Bolding (Mt. Vernon, N.Y./Bishop Stepinac) was able to corral the offensive rebound and go back up with a layup to extend the FDU lead to 44-40 with 37 seconds left. 

The Knights then played strong defense against the Terriers and forced them into a tough shot, but SFNY was able to get the offensive rebound and call timeout with nine seconds to go.

Before the ball was inbounded, a foul was called on FDU, and Ben Mockford knocked down the first free throw.  However, he missed the second, which allowed Bolding to grab the rebound and get fouled.

Bolding made the first free throw but missed the second with seven seconds left.  The Knights lead, though, was 45-41 with seven seconds left.

Kevin Douglas knocked down a three-pointer for the Terriers with 0.3 seconds remaining on the clock to cut the lead to 45-44.  After a timeout, FDU inbounded the ball to secure its third victory of the season.

Bolding led the Knights with 18 points as he knocked down 8-of-11 free throws.  He also added six rebounds and two steals.  Rochford picked up his second-straight double-double as he added 14 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

Both teams struggled offensively the entire day.  SFNY was able to take a 13-4 lead with 9:18 remaining in the first half.

Eventually, the Terriers were able to stretch their lead out to 11 at 23-12 with 4:04 left before halftime.

Six-straight points by Bolding cut the lead to 23-18 with just under a minute to go. 

Mockford knocked down 1-of-2 free throws to give SFNY a 24-18 halftime lead.

Both teams made eight field goals over the first 20 minutes to go a combined 16-of-58.  FDU missed all six of its three-point attempts, while the Terriers made only 3-of-11.  SFNY also went 5-of-8 from the free throw line, and the Knights converted 2-of-3.

FDU scored the first five points of the second half as graduate student George Goode (Raytown, MO/Raytown South)'s dunk cut the lead to 24-23.

Still trailing by one at 26-25, the Terriers scored the next five points to extend their lead back to six at 31-25 with 11:24 remaining in the game.

A layup by senior Briahn Smith (Detroit, MI/Madison) triggered an 8-0 run for the Knights over the next three minutes as two free throws by Bolding gave them a 33-31 lead with 8:23 to go.  It was the first lead for FDU since they led 2-1 in the opening minutes.

SFNY responded with five-straight points to take a 36-33 lead at the 6:33 mark of the second half.

Trailing 38-35, the Knights fought back as a Goode free throw tied the game at 38 with just under four minutes to go.

Mockford made two free throws to give the Terriers their last lead of the game at 40-38 with 2:36 remaining.  Rochford then tied the game at 40, and it was all FDU after that.

After shooting 28.6 percent in the first half, the Knights shot better in the second half (36.4 percent) to finish the game shooting 32 percent (16-of-50) from the field.  SFNY, which shot 30.8 percent in the first half, shot only 25.9 percent in the second half to finish the game at 28.3 percent (15-of-53).

FDU missed all 11 of its three-point attempts but held the Terriers to only 19 percent (4-of-21, 1-of-10 in the second half) from behind the arc.  The Knights also made 13-of-19 free throws, while SFNY converted only 10-of-17.

Despite being out-rebounded 44-36, FDU forced the Terriers into 19 turnovers.  The Knights turned it over 16 times, but on only six occasions in the second half.

“For our guys returning next season, this is a great way to end the season because it is such a positive,” Head Coach Greg Vetrone said.  “Dylan Moody (Philadelphia, Pa./Abington Friends) played phenomenal at point guard in 36 minutes of play and turned the ball over only one time.  Briahn Smith (Detroit, MI/Madison) did a great job of playing defense on Mockford (3-of-13, 2-of-10 three's) and forced him into an awful shooting night.  Bolding got the big offensive rebound put back to put us up four late.”

“It is incredible to get a victory over the number four team in the league.  It has been a challenge not playing without a point guard for most of the season,” Vetrone added.  “Replacing George Goode (Raytown, MO/Raytown South) will be our biggest challenge, but we are excited about next season.”

Douglas led the Terriers with 14 points, while Mockford added 12.  Jalen Cannon pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds.

FDU will return seven guys who played this season and add three guys who sat out this season because they were a transfer or a red-shirt for the 2012-13 season.