Box Score


PHOTO ALBUM

HACKENSACK, N.J. –  The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team earned an 86-82 overtime victory against Saint Francis U on Thursday night at Stratis Arena.  Freshman Darnell Edge (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) came off the bench to spark the Knights (10-10, 6-3 NEC) with 20 points and sophomore Marques Townes (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph (Metuchen)) sealed the win by blocking Saint Francis' final shot of the game.

"We were very fortunate to walk out of here with a win tonight. We took a ton of punches from Saint Francis, but we stayed on our feet and kept fighting," head coach Greg Herenda said after the game.  "Marques' blocked shot at the end of the game was obviously huge, but tonight was about Darnell Edge (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties). He was spectacular on both sides of the ball. When Steph (Jiggetts) went down he stepped up big time."
 
Edge scored 18 of his career-high 20 points in the second half.  He finished the game 7-of-11 shooting, including four-of-seven from beyond the arc.
 
Saint Francis falls to 9-11 and 5-4 in the NEC with the loss.
 
Edge was one of six FDU players to score in double figures in the contest.  He was joined by sophomore Darian Anderson (Washington, D.C./St. John's College ) (14), sophomore Earl Potts Jr. (Severn, Md./Archbishop Spalding ) (13), sophomore Stephan Jiggetts (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) (13), freshman Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, N.J./Arthur P. Schalick ) (12) and Townes (12).
 
FDU led 37-36 at the half and the teams played a wild back-and-forth second half that featured 13 lead changes and the score tied 10 times.
 
Potts connected on a jumper with 1:39 left in regulation to tie the score at 76-76.  Neither team scored over the final 1:39 sending the game into overtime.
 
SFU led just once in overtime, but the score was tied four times with Anderson putting the Knights in front for good on a jumper with 27 seconds left to play.
 
Townes would protect the 84-82 lead on the ensuing possession by blocking the shot of SFU's Ronnie Drinnon with five seconds left in overtime.  Potts secured the rebound and, after a foul, Anderson hit two free throws to seal the victory.
 
"Our crowd was immense as well," Herenda added.  "The students - especially the student-athletes got the building going and that helped us a great deal. They were awesome and I cannot thank them enough."
 
Potts finished with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds.  He also had five steals.
 
The Knights shot 52.4% (33-63) for the game and connected at a 36% (9-of-25) clip from long range.  Saint Francis was also strong connecting at a 50.8% (30-of-59) mark from the field and a 42.1% (8-of-19 mark from long distance.  Both teams also shot over 70% at the free throw line.
 
The Red Flash held a 34-29 advantage on the boards, but FDU committed just 11 turnovers while forcing SFU into 17.
 
Edge's previous high for points in a game was 10, which he set last Thursday in the comeback victory over LIU Brooklyn.
 
Potts' 12 rebounds are a new career-high and the double-double is his third this season.
Anderson also had a team-high five assists.
 
The Knights return to action on Saturday at 3 p.m. against LIU Brooklyn.  The game is the first of four straight on the road for the Knights.  All four contests can be seen live on NECFrontRow.com.