Box Score

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team jumped out to a 28-point lead in the first half and cruised to an 80-68 victory over Sacred Heart on Thursday night at the William H. Pitt Center.  The Knights were led by a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double from sophomore Earl Potts Jr. (Severn, Md./Archbishop Spalding ).

Freshman Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, N.J./Arthur P. Schalick ) also recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Sophomore Darian Anderson (Washington, D.C./St. John's College ) dropped in 18 points and added seven assists.

FDU improves to 6-8 on the season and 2-1 in Northeast Conference play.  Sacred Heart falls to 2-12 and 1-2 in the conference.

"We played as well as we could have in that first half.  It started on the defensive end and carried over to our offensive execution," head coach Greg Herenda said after the game.  "Every player that put on a blue jersey contributed to this conference road win."

The Knights led 14-9 with 11:29 left in the first half before producing a 23-6 run to grab a 37-15 lead with 6:30 left in the period.   FDU would add 10 more points over the final minutes, including late threes by sophomores Stephan Jiggetts (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) and Marques Townes (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph (Metuchen)).

Anderson led the Knights with 11 points in the first half, but he was followed closely by Earl Potts Jr. (Severn, Md./Archbishop Spalding ) with nine.  Potts also had eight boards in the opening period.

Despite a slow start, the Knights finished the period shooting 51.5% (17-of-33) from the field.  FDU was also strong at the free throw line hitting eight-of-10 attempts.

The Knights led 47-27 at the break and held off a second half surge from the Pioneers.  Sacred Heart out-scored FDU 41-33 in the second half.

The Pioneers cut the FDU lead to eight points with 1:03 left to play, but the Knights held off the late charge with Holloway and Townes each hitting a pair of free throws.

The Knights shot 48.1% (25-of-64) from the floor and connected at a 42.9% (9-of-21) clip from long range.  FDU was also 19-of-23 at the free throw line.  Sacred Heart shot 43.6% (24-of-55) from the field and 30.8% (4-of-13) from long range, but the Pioneers struggled at the free throw line going 16-of-29 (55.2%).

FDU also dominated on the boards with a 41-28 rebounding edge.  The +13 rebounding margin is a season-high against a Division I opponent for the Knights.

The 10 rebounds for Holloway are a new career-high and the double-double is his first is a collegiate player.

Potts' 11 rebounds match his career-high, which he set earlier this season.  It was also his fourth 20-point scoring game of the season.

The 27 points by Sacred Heart in the first half match FDU's season-low for points allowed in a half.  The Knights also limited Rutgers to just 27 first half points.

"This team plays very unselfish basketball and when the ball goes in the basket we become a really fun team."  Herenda added, "These guys are growing up every day. We still have a great deal to improve upon, but these guys are just playing so hard."

The Knights return to action on Saturday, January 9 against Central Connecticut.  FDU and CCSU are scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip-off at Stratis Arena inside the Rothman Center.