PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Keyed by a deep three-pointer courtesy of freshman Matt MacDonald with 25.4 seconds left, the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team defeated Rutgers, 73-72, Tuesday night at The RAC in the consolation bracket of the NIT Season Tip-Off. With the victory, the Knights improve to 2-6 on the season, while the Scarlet Knights fall to 4-4 overall.

Trailing 69-68, MacDonald drained a three to give FDU the lead at 71-69. The Knights defense then forced Rutgers' J.J. Moore into a tough shot, and freshman Malachi Nix, the smallest player on the court at 5-8, grabbed the rebound with 10 ticks left and passed to senior Sidney Sanders Jr. ,who found Mustafaa Jones for a layup with three seconds remaining on the clock.

Fortunately for FDU, Jones made the layup because Moore drained a three-quarter-court three at the buzzer to make the final score 73-72.

The victory for the Knights over Rutgers was only their second in the series (out of 11 games), and first since Dec. 1, 1993 when FDU won a 56-53 nail biter.

"What can I say - I am just so happy for every player on our team," Head Coach Greg Herenda said. "They work so hard everyday, and tonight they were rewarded for all of their efforts."

Sanders Jr. recorded his first career double-double with 22 points and 10 assists (one turnover), tying career highs in both categories; Jones drained 5-of-9 from three en route to scoring a career-best 21 points to go along with a career-high eight rebounds, while MacDonald chipped in a career-best 14 points and six rebounds.

FDU held Rutgers to only 32.3 percent from the floor in the second half and 38.6 percent (22-of-57) for the game, including 7-of-20 from behind-the-arc. The Knights shot 13-of-26 from the field and 8-of-15 from distance in the second half, finishing the contest at 42.9 percent (21-of-49) from the floor and 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from three.

"Sid Sanders was immense - he put us on his back all night, and Mustafaa (Jones) and Matt (MacDonald) just made killer three's," Herenda said. "But at the end of the day it was our defense. We held a very-talented Rutgers to team 39 percent shooting in their own building. Our defense has come a long way since Arizona. Last night Rutgers scored 116 points, and tonight we held them to 72."

The Scarlet Knights opened the game with an early 11-3 lead, but a 15-5 answer from FDU, capped by a three-point play from Sanders Jr., gave the Knights an 18-16 advantage. But Rutgers quickly responded with 10 unanswered to retake the lead at 26-18 with 6:52 to go before halftime.

FDU then outscored the home team by five the rest of the half to go into the break trailing 34-31.

The Knights came out after halftime on fire, scoring 16 of the first 22 points, as a Sanders' three from the left wing put FDU ahead 45-40 after a 9-1 run. The Knights, who scored on five trey balls, a three-point play and two free throws during their start to the second half, took its largest lead of the game at nine, 53-44, as a Jones' three from the right wing capped a 17-5 run at the 10:58 mark.

After another three-pointer from Jones, with the shot clock at one, extended the Knights' lead back to seven at 58-51, before the Scarlet Knights scored eight of the 10 points to cut the lead to 60-59 with 4:57 remaining in the game.

Graduate student Scooter Gillette then hammered a home a dunk off missed shot while getting fouled and made the free throw for a three-point play to put FDU up four. However, Rutgers scored six unanswered to retake the lead at 65-63 with 4:22 to go.

Both sides would exchange leads, and the Scarlet Knights were able to extend their advantage to 69-66 with 1:50 remaining on a pair of D'Von Campbell free throws.

On the Knights next possession, Sanders was fouled and drained both of his charity shots to slice the lead to 69-68.

With 56 ticks left, Seagears had his layup blocked by MacDonald, and Jones corralled the rebound after Seagears second attempt, setting up the dramatic finish.

"We still have a long way to go, but tonight's victory was big for our program, athletic program and our university," Herenda said.

Moore led Rutgers with a game-high 26 points and six rebounds, sharing team-high honors on the glass with Wally Judge, who had 10 points. Campbell added 13 points for the Scarlet Knights.

FDU will return to action Sunday, Dec. 1 when it travels to the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. to face another in-state rival, Seton Hall. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1.

Knight Notes: Facing horrific traffic and rain on the trip down the Jersey Turnpike, a normal 45-minute bus ride took over two hours, resulting in the team entering The RAC right when the court was ready for warm-ups… FDU has now won the second half in its last three contests, including 42-38 in tonight's victory… Sanders made 11-of-16 free throws, while the team made 20-of-25… The victory was the first over a "big" school since Nov. 18, 2006 when the Knights defeated Seton Hall, 76-71.

More Herenda Quotes: "I'd like to say it has been a privilege to play in the National Invitation Tournament. Being a New Jersey native, I know a lot about history going back at Rutgers. We were just fortunate tonight, made a bunch of shots and just tried our hardest. Eddie (Jordan) is a smart coach and really made it tough on us. Matt MacDonald made a huge three and we won. I'm just so happy for my team that they can enjoy Thanksgiving like this. I took the job May 1 and had six players in the program with no staff. We just had hungry players and I told them if they work hard they will win a championship someday. This wasn't a championship today, but I thought it was a championship effort. I'm just proud of my guys and thankful."

On significance of the win: "This win justifies what we have been doing since August. These kids have worked hard. We played at Arizona and versus Metro (State) - a tough schedule so far. This validates what we do in practice every day and shows them we can win games on the road in a tough environment. I'm hard on my guys, coach them tough but I respect them and love them. They deserve the fruits and to have a happy Thanksgiving."

On MacDonald's late three-pointer: "We wanted to open up the floor and let Sid(ney Sanders Jr.) go. In college basketball, players make plays. Sid drove it in and Matt (MacDonald) opened up deep. Matt joined us in August after having no scholarship offers. The kid shoots so many shots in practice and it paid off for him tonight."