Box Score HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team fell to Saint Francis U on Thursday night at Stratis Arena inside the Rothman Center by a score of 64-60. The Knights (7-15, 2-9 NEC) were led by 11 points from freshman
Darian Anderson (Washington, D.C./St. John's College ), while the Red Flash (13-9, 7-4 NEC) received a 20-point, 14-rebound double-double from Earl Brown.
Following a pair of missed free throws by the Red Flash with 14 seconds remaining, Anderson connected on a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 62-60 with just eight seconds left to play. FDU fouled on the inbounds play, but SFU's Malik Harmon connected on both free throws effectively sealing the victory for the Red Flash.
The game was tied on six occasions and the lead changed hands eight times with neither team leading by double-digits at any point in the contest.
FDU led for 13 minutes in the first half, but the Red Flash were able to use a 7-2 closing run to take a 27-26 lead into the break.
"It's a shame that we couldn't get it going offensively tonight because we are really guarding the ball and rebounding so much better," head coach
Greg Herenda said. "I just love how hard we are playing, but we need to be much more solid and consistent on each and every offensive possession. We just need to continue to grind and break through and win one game – then more will come."
Anderson led the Knights with 11 points on four-of-eight shooting, including a three-of-five performance from beyond the arc. Sophomore
Malachi Nix (Evanston, Ill./Niles North) and freshman
Stephan Jiggetts (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) each came off the bench to score 10 points.
As a team, FDU shot 39.3% (22-56) from the floor and just 25.0% (7-28) from beyond the arc. The Red Flash were 49.0% (25-51) on the day and 37.5% (6-16) from deep.
The Knights and Red Flash were even on the boards, 32-32, and in turnovers, 20-20. Earl Brown was responsible for 14 of SFU's 32 boards, while the Knights had a balanced effort led by six from junior
Xavier Harris (Philadelphia, Pa./Constitution) and five each for sophomore
Matt MacDonald (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) and freshman
Marques Townes (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph (Metuchen)).
Saint Francs held a 34-24 advantage in the paint and capitalized better off of turnovers. The Red Flash scored 21 points off of turnovers compared to 13 for FDU.
A large student turnout fueled an energetic crowd for the game, which was televised by MSG and Fox College Sports.
The Knights will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 7 against Robert Morris at 4:30 p.m. and will also host Bryant on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. FDU will then play three straight games on the road with trips to Wagner, St. Francis Brooklyn and Mount St. Mary's.
