LORETTO, Pa. – The Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team fell to Saint Francis University, 69-63, in a battle to the end on Thursday, Feb. 21 at DeGol Arena. With the loss, the Knights fall to 7-21 on the year, with a 2-13 Northeast Conference mark, while the Red Flash improve to 4-22, with a 4-11 conference record.

The teams battled for the lead through the entire game, with each team responding quickly to the others' lead.  After trailing by double-digits, the Knights fought to a 66-63 deficit in the final 20 seconds of action. The Red Flash sealed the win from the free-throw line as time wound down.

Senior Kinu Rochford (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) led the Knights with 21 points and 13 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. The Red Flash saw over 20 points scored by Anthony Ervin, who had 22, and Ben Millaud-Meunier, who paced all players with 26 points.

The Knights took a 7-3 lead to open the game and maintained a small advantage by holding the Red Flash to 1-of-10 from the field over the opening eight minutes of play.

Midway through the half, the Knights took a 16-8 lead on a Xavier Harris (Philadelphia, Pa./Constitution) layup, but it would be their greatest advantage of the contest.

The Red Flash constructed a 13-point run to go ahead 21-16 with 6:20 left on the clock and extended the edge to 31-20 with fewer than two minutes to play before halftime. A three-point shot from Lonnie Robinson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach), followed by a layup at the buzzer by Rochford, cut the score to 31-25 at the break.

After a slow start, the Red Flash produced a shooting percentage of 37.9 in the first half, while holding FDU to a 34.4 mark. The Red Flash also outrebounded FDU, 21-19.

The Red Flash struck first in the second half with a layup by Ronnie Drinnon, but sparked by a jumper from Rochford, the Knights scored 10 unanswered points to take a 35-33 lead with 17 minutes left to play. 

Twelve consecutive points for Saint Francis gave the Red Flash a 10-point lead, whichthey would not relinquish. Halfway through the second half, SFU maintained a 53-43 lead.

Strong three-point shooting extended Saint Francis' lead to 16 points with 4:30 remaining in the game. The Knights fought to chip away at the lead and brought the score to 65-57 on free throws by Sidney Sanders Jr. (Charleston, S.C./Burke) and a three-point shot by Melquan Bolding (Mt. Vernon, N.Y./Bishop Stepinac). 

Rochford, Bolding and Sanders continued to fight for FDU and brought the Knights within three points, 66-63, with 13 seconds on the clock, but the Red Flash sank 3-of-4 free throws over the final 11 seconds to seal the win, 69-63.

Overall, the Red Flash outshot FDU, 46.9 to 40.0 percent from the field and produced a 52.6 three-point percentage, while holding FDU to 29.4 percent from beyond-the-arc.

The Red Flash held the advantage on the glass, 38-33, but turned the ball over 21 times, compared to FDU's 17. The Knights scored 25 points off SFU's turnovers.

The Knights will stay in Western Pennsylvania for their final road game of the 2012-13 campaign. The team will face Robert Morris on Saturday, Feb. 23 as part of a men's/women's doubleheader at the Sewell Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.