FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team fought for a comeback but was defeated by the Sacred Heart Pioneers, 77-70, on Thursday, Feb. 7 at the William H. Pitt Center. With the loss, the Knights fall to 7-17 on the year and 2-9 in Northeast Conference action, while the Pioneers move to 9-13, with a 7-4 conference record.

The Pioneers took an early lead and extended their advantage to double-digits late in the first half. The Knights mounted a comeback in the second half and challenged the Pioneers in the last 10 minutes of play, but Sacred Heart earned the seven-point victory by sinking 8-of-8 free throws over the final 35 seconds of the contest.

Senior Kinu Rochford (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) paced the Knights offensively with 20 points on the night, while Melquan Bolding (Mt. Vernon, N.Y./Bishop Stepinac) added 16 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Graduate student Trevor Charles (Brooklyn, N.Y./William E. Grady) added 12 points and five rebounds in just 11 minutes of play.

Sacred Heart's Shane Gibson started the contest with a three-pointer and led the Pioneers to a quick 14-4 lead. A layup by Bolding sparked a 7-0 run for FDU to cut the deficit, but the Pioneers responded with sharp shooting, and with six minutes left to play in the first half, took a 27-16 lead on a made free throw. 

The Knights pushed through the remainder of the half and cut the lead to 29-25 with two minutes before halftime, but Sacred Heart ended the half with a 7-3 streak to go into the break with a 36-28 lead.

Bolding led FDU in the first half with seven points and six rebounds. As a unit, the team pulled down 19 rebounds and held SHU to 16 boards, while remaining even at eight turnovers each. Sacred Heart held the advantage from the field with a 53.8 shooting percentage, while holding FDU to 38.7 percent from the floor.

After Sacred Heart extended its lead to nine in the opening minutes of the second half, the Knights used a 9-2 run to cut the SHU lead to 45-43. The Pioneers responded and went ahead, 49-43, with 13 minutes to play.

Bolding, Rochford and Charles combined for another 9-2 spurt, enabling the Knights to take a 52-51 lead with nine minutes remaining in the contest.

Six quick points from the Pioneers gave Sacred Heart control of the game at the five minute mark, but the Knights did stop fighting.  Rochford scored 10 consecutive points for FDU to keep the Knights in the game over the final minutes. Although the Knights got within three points at 71-68, with 16 ticks on the clock, the Pioneers sank all four shots from the charity stripe in the last 15 seconds of the game to seal the win, 77-70.

Overall, the Knights were outlasted from the field, as the Pioneers shot 49 percent, while FDU converted 41.9 percent of shots. The Knights held the advantage on the glass, 37-33, including a 15-9 advantage in offensive rebounds.

The Pioneers saw double-digit points from three players, with Gibson leading the pack with 27 points. Gibson also paced the Pioneers with nine rebounds.

The Knights are scheduled to take on in-state rival Monmouth University at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9 as part of FDU's Winter Homecoming. Fans should check back at FDUKnights.com during the impending winter storm for up-to-date information on Saturday's contest.