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HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team will host the Seahawks of Wager College on Thursday, Feb. 28 as the team enters the final weekend of the season. Tipoff at Stratis Arena is slated for 7 p.m.
The Knights are 7-22 on the year with a 2-14 mark in Northeast Conference action after losing two games in Western Pennsylvania last weekend. The team has averaged 65 points per contest, while maintaining a shooting percentage of 42.9. The Knights' opponents are scoring 78 points per game on 46.7 percent of their shots.
The senior trio of Kinu Rochford (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison), Melquan Bolding (Mt. Vernon, N.Y./Bishop Stepinac) and Lonnie Robinson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) lead the Knights this season. Rochford leads the league with 9.1 rebounds per game, while also scoring 14.4 points per game. Bolding adds 13.6 per contest, while Robinson has averaged 9.0 points recently with a three-point shooting percentage of 42.7.
The Seahawks are 16-11 on the year with a 10-6 Northeast Conference record. They have secured a position in the NEC Tournament and currently stand in third place, tied with LIU Brooklyn and Quinnipiac.
As a team, Wagner averages 67.8 points per game with a shooting percentage of 43.8. The team holds opponents to just 40.9 percent from the field to lead the league in field goal percentage defense.
Jonathon Williams leads the Seahawks with an average of 14.7 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game. Latif Rivers and Kenneth Ortiz add 13.2 and 11.9 per game, respectively.
The team brings down 36.9 rebounds per game, while dishing out 12.2 assists, forcing 14.9 turnovers and blocking 5.3 shots per contest to lead the league.
Wagner leads the all-time series with 50 wins in 93 games since 1955. The Knights have won on 43 occasions with their last victory recorded on Feb. 11, 2010. The Seahawks have earned the edge in the last four meetings, including two 20+ point victories during the 2011-12 season and a 68-55 win at the Spiro Sports Center earlier this season.
Rochford paced FDU and recorded his seventh double-double in 10 games with 16 points and 16 rebounds in the January loss. Ortiz helped the Seahawks to the win with 22 points, including 12 of Wagner's final 13 points, while Mario Moody added 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Following Thursday's contest, the Knights will host Mount St. Mary's in the season finale on Saturday, March 2. Tipoff at Stratis Arena is slated for 4:30 p.m. and will follow the FDU women's basketball game against The Mount. Saturday's contest will include Winter Homecoming and Senior Day festivities.
