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LORETTO, Pa. - The third week of Northeast Conference play brings the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team to Loretto, Pennsylvania for a showdown with Saint Francis U.  The Knights and Red Flash both enter the game as part of a five-way tie for first place in the NEC.  In addition to being 3-1 in conference, FDU and SFU also have matching 7-8 overall records.  The Knights are the highest scoring team in the league, while Saint Francis has a balanced attack that ranks fourth in scoring offense and third in scoring defense.
 
GAME DETAILS
FDU (7-8, 3-1 NEC) vs. Saint Francis U (7-8, 3-1 NEC)
Where: DeGol Arena – Loretto, Pa.
When: Thursday, January 14, 2016 – 7:00 p.m.
Series History: SFU leads 42-41
First Meeting: 1/12/55 - SFU W, 75-62
Last Meeting: 2/5/15 – SFU W, 64-60
Last FDU Win: 1/12/13 - FDU W, 79-69 (OT)
 
With a victory, FDU would start NEC play with a 4-1 record for the first time since the 2004-05 season.  The 2004-05 team started 7-1 and eventually earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament.*
 
Series History:  This is 84th all-time meeting between FDU and Saint Francis U with the Red Flash holding a slight 42-41 advantage in the series.  Last year, SFU won both contests edging FDU, 68-63 and 64-60.  The Red Flash also won both meetings in 2013-14 and have a five game winning streak dating back to the 2012-13 season.  FDU's last victory in Loretto came on February 9, 2008, a 79-61 victory for the Knights.
 
Last Season vs. SFU:  The Knights and Red Flash played back-to-back games last season with Saint Francis edging out FDU in both.  The first game, played in Loretto, was a 68-63 win for SFU and the second, held at Stratis Arena, was a 64-60 win for the visitors.  At SFU last year, Darian Anderson (Washington, D.C./St. John's College ) posted a monster game of 14 points, 8 rebounds and six assists.  He also scored in double figures when the Red Flash visited Hackensack.
 
Leading the Conference in Scoring:  FDU is leading the NEC in scoring offense at 76.9 points per game, a mark that is 4.4 points higher than second ranked LIU Brooklyn.  The Knights are the only team in the NEC to score 80 or more points in each conference game this season and are also the only team to break 90 points in NEC play.
 
Potts Earns Second NEC Player of the Week Award:  Sophomore Earl Potts Jr. (Severn, Md./Archbishop Spalding ) has emerged as one of the top players in the NEC and for the second time this season he was recognized as the league's player of the week.  Potts averaged 21.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals over the two games.  He shot 60.9 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from long range, making 7-13 shots from beyond the arc.
 
Holloway Named NEC Rookie of the Week:  Freshman Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, N.J./Arthur P. Schalick ) had his play recognized by the Northeast Conference on Monday.  The 6-7 Pittsgrove, New Jersey native earned the honor after recording his first career double-double at Sacred Heart (15 pts, 10 rbs) and then adding 10 points against CCSU to finish the week averaging 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.  Holloway also ranks second in the NEC in field goal percentage on the season at 59.3%.
 
Sophomore Anderson Stuffs the Stat Sheet:  Darian Anderson (Washington, D.C./St. John's College ) needs just one more assist to reach 150 for his career.  He is also just five rebounds shy of 150 career boards.  Anderson is also closing in on 100 career steals (currently at 85).
 
Sophomore Scoring:  Four FDU sophomores - Earl Potts Jr. (Severn, Md./Archbishop Spalding ), Darian Anderson (Washington, D.C./St. John's College ), Stephan Jiggetts (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) and Marques Townes (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph (Metuchen)) - currently rank as the team's top four scorers.  Potts leads the group at 16.1 per game, while Anderson (15.1), Jiggetts (11.1) and Townes (10.0) are close behind.  The quartet has accounted for 783 points this season, which is 68% of the team's scoring this year.
 
150 Career Wins:  With Saturday's 92-73 victory over CCSU, Greg Herenda recorded his 150th career victory as a collegiate head coach.  He is in his 10th season as a head coach with a career spanning from junior college to NCAA Division I.  He has 18 wins at the junior college level, 12 at Division III and 95 from his five seasons at UMass Lowell when the school was Division II.  He has totaled 25 wins so far in his time as a Division I head coach at Fairleigh Dickinson.  His career record is 150-131.
 
Quick Notes on the Knights:  All five FDU starters are making a higher percentage of free throws in NEC play than they did during the non-conference slate.
 
• Earl Potts Jr. (Severn, Md./Archbishop Spalding ) and Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, N.J./Arthur P. Schalick ) won weekly awards from the NEC on Monday, Jan. 11.  Potts claimed player of the week and Holloway rookie, it marks the first time in program history that Knights have won both awards in the same week.
 
• Sophomore Stephan Jiggetts (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) had scored in double figures in six straight games before having the streak snapped Thursday (Jan. 6) at Sacred Heart
 
• The Knights have been excellent at the free throw line in NEC play going 57-of-70 at the stripe, which is an 81.4% clip.  The team had shot 62.7% during non-conference play.
 
• The 41-28 advantage in rebounding against Sacred Heart gave FDU a +13 rebounding margin, the team's best performance against a Division I opponent dating back to the 2010-11 season.


* This story has been updated.  It originally stated that the 4-1 start was the best since 1997-98, but the 2004-05 team also started 4-1 and eventually improved to 7-1 in NEC play.