Box Score

HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team fell to Mount St. Mary's on Sunday afternoon at the Stratis Arena inside the Rothman Center by a score of 87-72.  The Knights (9-10, 5-3 NEC) outscored the Mountaineers (9-12, 6-2 NEC) in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome a 19-point halftime deficit.
 
Sophomore Marques Townes (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph (Metuchen)) scored a career-high 26 points in the loss.  Townes was 10-of-16 from the field and 4-of-7 from behind the arc.  He also had eight rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes of action.
 
The Knights committed a season-high 24 turnovers with 16 coming in the first half.  FDU's first half turnovers resulted in 23 points for the Mount.
 
The Mount used a 17-0 run to build an 18-2 lead six minutes into the game.  The Mountaineers would eventually expand their lead to 23-points with eight minutes remaining in the game.
 
FDU chipped away at Mount's lead on several occasions throughout the game, but the Knights were unable to pull closer than 11 points after falling behind by double-digits at the 16:59 mark of the first half.
 
"We cannot think that we can come back and win every night," head coach Greg Herenda said after the game.  "It is so hard when you dig yourself a hole - we just simply have to get off to better starts."
 
"Both teams were presented the same issues with changing the game due to the weather and obviously they did a must better job handling it."
 
Townes scored 21 of his 26 in the second half.  He was 8-of-12 from the field, three-of-four from three and two-of-three at the free throw line.
 
Sophomore Darian Anderson (Washington, D.C./St. John's College ) finished with 19 points joining Townes in double figures.
 
Freshman Darnell Edge (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) scored seven points in the first half to lead FDU in the period.
 
As a team, the Knights shot 45.4% (25-of-55) from the floor and 40.0% (8-of-20) from beyond the arc.  They connected at a 73.7% clip from the free throw line.  The Mountaineers were 48.3% (29-of-60) from the field and 25% (5-of-20) from three.  The Mount hit on 24-of-28 attempts at the free throw line.
 
The Mount led 44-25 at the half.  FDU outscored the Mountaineers 47-43 in the second half.
 
The Knights will host Saint Francis U at Startis Arena on Thursday, January 28.  FDU and the Red Flash are scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip-off with the game available live on NECFrontRow.com.
 
"I just hope with our students coming back to campus that we can get this building jumping on Thursday against Saint Francis," Herenda added.  "We have an incredibly exciting team and I just hope that our students can come out and help us get off to a great start."