Box Score

LORETTO, Pa. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team could not overcome a huge first half by Saint Francis University on Saturday afternoon, losing to the Red Flash, 83-75, at DeGol Arena in Northeast Conference action. With the victory, SFU improves to 6-15 (4-4 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 8-14 (4-4 NEC) overall.

The Red Flash shot a blistering 60.7 percent (17-of-28) from the field, including 7-of-14 from three-point range, over the opening 20 minutes, and forced FDU into 13 miscues (eight in the first eight minutes) leading to a 23-0 advantage in points off turnovers. The Knights shot 52.4 percent (13-of-24) but still trailed 47-31 at the half.

"Saint Francis is playing very good basketball right now, and we were a step slow to everything they did in the first half," Head Coach Greg Herenda said.

Trailing by 22 six minutes into the second half, junior Mustafaa Jones (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti) drilled a three-pointer that triggered a 17-2 Knights' run, before senior Sidney Sanders Jr. (Charleston, S.C./Burke) layup cut the deficit to 61-54 at the 10:50 mark.

But SFU answered with a 13-3 spurt to extend its lead back out to 17 at 74-57 with 4:13 remaining. FDU would fight back to trim the lead to six with eight ticks left, but it was not enough.

Sanders Jr. led all scorers with 30 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field, dished out a game-high eight assists, grabbed five rebounds and recorded three steals. Sophomore Xavier Harris (Philadelphia, Pa./Constitution) came off the bench to score a season-high 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting to go along with a team-high six rebounds. Freshman Matt MacDonald (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) tacked on 11 points, knocking down 3-of-6 from distance, and Jones chipped in 10.

The Knights shot even better from the field in the second half (56.3 percent) to finish at a season-high 55.4 percent (31-of-56, 7-of-19 from three). The Red Flash cooled off in the second half to shoot 49.2 percent (29-of-59) but connected on 12-of-30 from behind the arc to outscore FDU by 15. SFU also held a seven-point advantage at the charity stripe (13-6), with both sides missing five free throws.

The Knights turned the ball over only three times in the second half and were ultimately outscored, 26-12, on points off turnovers, but did win the battle on the glass for the third straight game, 32-29.

Ben Millaud-Meunier came off the bench to pace the Red Flash with 22 points on 6-of-11 three-pointers, while Stephon Whyatt added 14 points and five assists off the bench. The FDU defense limited Earl Brown, the league's leading rebounder and top big man, to only seven points and five rebounds.

"We did a great job on (Earl) Brown, but we let their secondary scorers get great looks," Herenda said. "We shot 55 percent on the road and lost. We need to be more consistent defensively, and we will be fine."

The Knights will look to reverse their fortune on Thursday, Feb. 6 when they make the trip to Staten Island, N.Y. to match up with Wagner at 7 p.m. in conference play.