Box Score

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking 67-64 defeat on Monday night to Wagner inside Stratis Arena in Northeast Conference action. With the victory, the second-place Seahawks improve to 16-11 (10-4) NEC on the season, while the Knights remain in seventh place and fall to 10-18 (6-8 NEC) overall.

Senior Mathias Seilund (Dragoer, Denmark/Falkonergaardens Gymnasium) gave FDU a 64-63 lead when he swished his second free throw after missing the first with 38 seconds to go.

Wagner's Latif Rivers was then fouled with 24 seconds left. He made both freebies to put the Seahawks in front, 65-64.

With nine seconds remaining, graduate student Scooter Gillette (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti), who constructed career bests of 19 points and nine rebounds (game highs), was fouled on his layup attempt. However, he missed both free throws, forcing the Knights to foul immediately.

Dwaun Anderson of Wagner made both foul shots with 6.8 seconds left to extend the visitors lead to 66-63. After FDU called its final timeout, freshman Malachi Nix (Evanston, Ill./Niles North) drove down the court, but his three-point attempt in traffic fell short, allowing the Seahawks to escape with
the win.

"That was a hard-fought conference game, and it was right in our grasp, but we couldn't seal the deal," Head Coach Greg Herenda said. "Scooter (Gillette) was immense for us all game long. Without him, we would not have even been in the game. Wagner was picked to win the conference, and we were picked dead last. It just shows how much our team has proved. Even in defeat, I am proud of my team."

The Knights jumped out to an early 12-6 lead after Gillette's layup at the 12:44 mark. But Wagner fought back using a 16-6 run to take its first lead of the game and eventually going ahead 22-18 with 7:10 to go before halftime.

FDU would finish the first half strong, scoring 11 of the final 17 points to enter the locker room leading 29-28.

The Knights shot a respectable 44.8 percent (13-of-29) from the field over the first 20 minutes but converted only 2-of-8 from three-point range and 1-of-4 at the line. The Seahawks connected at a 50 percent clip (11-of-22) from the floor, made 2-of-5 from distance and sunk 4-of-6 free throws.

FDU opened its lead up to five at 38-33 after freshman Mike Owona (Baltimore, Md./The John Carroll School)'s layup at the 15:35 mark of the second half.

Once again, Wagner came back and eventually regained the lead at 47-45 on a Rivers' there-point play with 9:46 remaining.

But the Knights regained control with a 12-3 spurt, as a pair of free throws at the 5:43 mark from senior Sidney Sanders Jr. (Charleston, S.C./Burke) gave FDU its largest lead of the game, 57-50.

After a layup from freshman Jayde Dawson (Montreal, Quebec/Brooks School) extended the Knights' lead back out to seven at 59-52 with 4:14 to go, Wagner connected on three consecutive three-pointers during a 9-1 flurry to retake the lead, 61-60, with 1:58 left.

Gillette answered for FDU with a three-point play, which gave the advantage back to the Knights at 63-61 at the 1:38 mark, before Kenneth Ortiz knotted the game at 63-63 on a pair of free throws with 1:02 to go, setting up the dramatic finish.

Free throws proved to be the difference, as FDU made only 18-of-27, with three misses coming over the final 38 seconds. The Seahawks drained 20-of-25, including 16-of-19 in the second half.

The Knights only shot 33.3 percent in the second half to finish the contest at 39.6 percent (21-of-53) and made only 4-of-15 from behind the arc. Wagner made 7-of-19 from long distance and finished the game shooting 45.5 percent (20-of-44).

FDU edged Wagner on the glass, 33-32, including a 13-7 advantage on the offensive boards. The Knights also forced the Seahawks into 19 turnovers (10 via steals) but gave the ball up 13 times. FDU also dominated in points in the paint, outscoring Wagner, 34-18.

Sanders Jr. added 15 points and game highs of nine assists and three steals. Dawson came off the bench to chip in eight points and a career-high three steals, while Seilund tossed in seven points, six rebounds and a career-high three blocks.

Rivers paced the Seahawks with 18 points (13 after halftime), while Marcus Burton scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, including three big three's. Ortiz added 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Seahawks.

The Knights will return to action on Thursday, Feb. 27 when they welcome first-place Robert Morris to Stratis Arena for the regular season home finale, with tipoff slated for 7 p.m. Sanders Jr., Seilund and Gillette will be honored before hand with a senior night ceremony.