Box Score

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Junior Mustafaa Jones (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti)' career-high 20 points led five players in double figures, as the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team started the Greg Herenda era 1-0 after defeating Caldwell, 89-71, Friday night at Stratis Arena in the 2013-14 opener for both schools.

Jones went 7-of-15 from the floor, including 5-of-11 from distance, and grabbed seven rebounds to share team-high honors with sophomore Xavier Harris (Philadelphia, Pa./Constitution). Senior Mathias Seilund (Dragoer, Denmark/Falkonergaardens Gymnasium) added 15 points and five rebounds, freshman Jayde Dawson (Montreal, Quebec/Brooks School) came off the bench to score 13 points and dish out four assists, while Harris and Sidney Sanders, Jr. chipped 11 and 10 points, respectively. Sanders also dished out a game-high seven assists.

"It was a great night to be a Knight," Herenda said. "Our team is young and exciting, and our crowd was just awesome."

Trailing 21-16 with 11:42 remaining in the first half, the Knights used an 18-1 run, capped by a Dawson jumper, to take a 34-22 lead with 5:16 to go before halftime.

Freshman Malachi Nix (Evanston, Ill./Niles North)'s three-pointer from the right wing gave FDU its largest lead of the half, 42-26, before a three from fellow classmate Scott Kingsley (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita of Cascia) right before halftime put the Knights up 45-30 at the break.

Four points from Seilund to start the second half allowed FDU to take its largest lead of the game at 51-32 with 17:59 remaining in the contest.

The Cougars fought back, outscoring the Knights by 11, to cut the deficit to 68-60, but FDU quickly went back up 13 on a Jones' three from the right wing and a put-back layup from graduate student Scooter Gillette (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti). The Knights then went on to cruise to the 89-71 victory to start 1-0 for the first time since 2002-03.

FDU's uptempo style proved to be the difference. The Knights forced 25 turnovers, scoring 26 points off the miscues. The FDU bench also scored 30 points.

Offensively, the Knights shot 45.8 percent (33-of-72) from the floor while piling up 19 assists, and went 14-of-21 from the charity stripe. FDU also took great care of the basketball, as it only turned the ball over eight times, including just twice after halftime.

"My first win here at FDU is special, but what makes me even happier is the potential of this team and this program," Herenda said. "We have a great deal of work ahead of us, but the potential is incredible here."

Caldwell finished the contest shooting 39.3 percent (22-of-56) from the field and made 22-of-33 free throws. The Cougars also won the rebounding battle, 47-38.

Wyatt Polk led Caldwell with 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Michael Balkovic added 14 points and 11 boards, while Dawan Lighty and Terik Bridgeman netted 15 and 11 points for the Cougars.

The Knights will have a quick turnaround when they travel to Hempstead, N.Y. to take on Hofstra for a 4 p.m. tipoff Sunday, Nov. 10. The Pride fell to Monmouth Friday night at home, 88-84.