Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team was defeated by Princeton, 77-55, at Jadwin Gymnasium on Saturday night in the first-ever meeting between the two Garden State programs. With the victory, the Tigers improve to 6-1 on the season, while the Knights fall to 3-8 overall.

For the 10th consecutive game, senior Sidney Sanders Jr. (Charleston, S.C./Burke) paced FDU in the scoring column after netting 23 points, including 13 before halftime, to lead all scorers.

"I am truly privileged to coach the first FDU-Princeton game," Head Coach Greg Herenda said. "Princeton is a very smart and skilled basketball team and their three-point shooting and offensive efficiency just wore us down tonight."

In a closely-contested first half, the Knights took their first lead of the game at 23-21 on a three-pointer from freshman Malachi Nix (Evanston, Ill./Niles North) at the 5:56 mark of the first half, before the Tigers' Pete Miller layup with 4:21 left in the opening half would give the home team the lead for good at 26-25.

Princeton would regain the lead on a layup from Peter Miller, and while holding a 29-27 lead with 3:33 remaining before halftime, the home team would close out the half on a 9-1 run to take a 36-28 lead into the locker room.

The first-half ending run would eventually become a 20-4 spurt, as the Tigers scored 11 of the first 14 points of the second half over the first three minutes.  Princeton eventually would outscore the Knights, 41-27, in the second half.

One of the big differences in the game came behind-the-arc, as the Tigers knocked down 11 three's compared to FDU only going 3-of-15. Princeton also held a commanding lead on the glass, 43-28, including 15-6 on the offensive end, which led to a nine-point difference in second-chance points.

Denton Koon led a quartet of Tigers that scored in double-figures with 18 points, while Spencer Weisz added 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

"These road games versus high-level competition will only prove to help us once we get into conference play," Herenda said. "I am very proud of how hard our team competes night in and night out versus this high-level competition. Now we pack our bags and head to Iowa to take on another national power. I am confident that these experiences will only help us be prepared for March."

The Knights will have a quick turnaround when they travel to Iowa City, Iowa to face a nationally-ranked Iowa squad on Monday, Dec. 9. Tipoff versus the Hawkeye, who are ranked No. 23 in the AP Top 25 and No. 4 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST and will be televised on the Big Ten Network.