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HACKENSACK, N.J. --The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team (9-17, 5-7 NEC) returns to Stratis Arena for three straight Northeast Conference contests beginning on Saturday when it hosts Sacred Heart (4-23, 1-11 NEC). Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. and will be broadcast live on NEC Front Row.

Last Time Out
The seventh-place Knights snapped their five-game losing streak in a big way on Thursday night by defeating second-place Bryant on the road, 63-52, to avenge a 27-point defeat from earlier in the season. FDU constructed its best defensive effort of the year, holding the Bulldogs high power offense to only 52 points (18 in the second half) and 29.6 percent shooting from the field, including only 17.2 percent in the second half. Bryant came into the contest as the 24th-best shooting team in the country, and the Knights produced season bests in points allowed and field goal percentage. FDU also limited the Bulldogs to only five points over the final 10:14 of the game.

The Knights also shot a ridiculous 59.1 percent (13-of-22) from three-point range, with a 9-for-14 effort in the first half. The 13 made three's tie for the second most in a game this season for FDU, who currently leads the NEC in three-point shooting in conference games (42.1 percent).

Red-hot Mustafaa Jones (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti) paced the Knights with 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting from behind the arc. The junior scored 15 points on five trey balls in the first half and has knocked down 17 of his last 29 (58.6 percent) from long distance over the last three games. Mathias Seilund (Dragoer, Denmark/Falkonergaardens Gymnasium) added 17 points, as the senior went 4-of-4 from three-point range, and scored seven of his 11 second-half points in an 8-2 spurt, which extended a two-point advantage to eight with 5:33 remaining in the contest. Senior Sidney Sanders Jr. (Charleston, S.C./Burke) chipped in 15 points, seven rebounds and a game-high seven assists.

Sacred Heart
2013-14 Season: 4-23 (1-11 NEC)
When: Saturday, Feb. 22 - 3 p.m.
Where: Hackensack, N.J. (Stratis Arena)
Series History: Sacred Heart leads 13-10
Last Meeting: Jan. 11, 2014 - Sacred Heart 71 FDU 67
What You Need To Know: The Pioneers are in the process of concluding a dreadful year under first-year head coach Anthony Latina, but Sacred Heart's lone victory in conference play  came against the Knights in the second NEC game of the year for both sides. FDU held a six-point halftime lead after shooting nearly 50 percent from the field, but cooled off in the second half to finish the game at 39.3 percent. Defensively, the Knights held the Pioneers to only 33.9 percent from the field (a season best for FDU until Thursday night), but Sacred Heart went to the line 27 times and capitalized on 24 of its attempts to outscore the Knights by nine from the charity stripe. The last-place Pioneers have lost 10 straight since then but have been competitive, as they have lost six games by less than 10 points.

Up Next
FDU will have another quick turnaround when it hosts Wagner on Monday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. inside Stratis Arena. The contest was originally scheduled for Feb. 13, but Winter Storm Pax forced the postponement of the game. The Seahawks defeated the Knights, 75-68, on Feb. 6 on Staten Island, N.Y.