Box Score Piscataway, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team fell to Rutgers by a final score of 72-64 on Wednesday night at The RAC. The Knights (4-7) were led by 15 points from sophomore
Stephan Jiggetts (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) and 13 from freshman
Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, N.J./Arthur P. Schalick ). The Scarlet Knights (5-7) were led by 21 points from Corey Sanders.
"That was a very hard fought basketball game by both teams, but Rutgers got hot at the right time and we left a lot of points on the floor," head coach
Greg Herenda said after the game. "We did a terrific job defending and rebounding in the first half, but our inability to make free throws or three-pointers put so much pressure on our defense."
FDU led for more than 24 minutes, but Rutgers came from behind to earn the victory.
Holloway also had nine rebounds, matching a career-high. His 13 points came on 6-of-12 shooting.
The Knights opened the second half with a 6-1 run to grab a 35-28 lead. Rutgers would tie the game at 36-36 on a three-pointer with 14:05 left to play. From that point the teams would trade baskets and the lead with neither side able to grab more than a one possession lead until the 3:19 mark when Rutgers would take a 59-55 lead on a free throw by Jonathan Laurent.
The Knights continued to score, but Rutgers extended its lead to eight points on free throws in the final minute.
The Knights led 29-27 at the half, behind seven points from sophomore
Darian Anderson (Washington, D.C./St. John's College ) and six from sophomore
Earl Potts Jr. (Severn, Md./Archbishop Spalding )After falling behind 4-0 to start the game FDU scored the next eight points, taking a 6-4 lead on a jumper by Anderson at the 15:35 mark and then extending it to eight points on a layup by Anderson with 13:22 left in the period.
Leading 10-9 at the second media timeout, the Knights came out of the stoppage on fire scoring nine straight points and eventually using a 14-3 run to build a 24-12 lead. Rutgers chipped away at the lead over the final six minutes of the period, but a layup by Anderson with 20 seconds remaining in the period allowed the Knights to take a lead into the break.
The Knights shot 42.2% (27-of-64) from the field, but struggled at the free throw line (7-of-20) and three-point arc (3-of-20). Rutgers was 45.7% (21-of-46) from the floor and 41.2% (7-of-17) from three. The Scarlet Knights also connected at a 74.2% clip from the free throw line (23-of-31).
FDU forced Rutgers into 17 turnovers, while committing just eight.
The Knights also dominated the paint outscoring the Scarlet Knights 44-22.
The game featured four lead changes and the score was tied 10 times.
Potts, Anderson and sophomore
Marques Townes (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph (Metuchen)) all finished with nine points. Townes was also credited with three assists and three steals.
The Knights are now 0-8 all-time against members of the Big Ten.
"All in all, I am very proud of how our team performed against such a difficult non-conference schedule. This is a young group that is growing up quickly from game-to-game. Now we can get some rest and start preparing for NEC Conference play," Herenda added.
FDU completes its non-conference schedule with a 4-7 record. The team will resume competition on January 2 against St. Francis Brooklyn. The Knights and Terries will tip-off at 4:30 p.m. following a game between the FDU and SFBK women's teams.
