Herenda Postgame

HACKENSACK, N.J. – Led by double-doubles from redshirt senior Tyrone O'Garro (Newark, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) and sophomore forward Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, N.J./Arthur P. Schalick ), the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team topped Merrimack College 77-62 in an exhibition game on Thursday night at Stratis Arena.
 
The Knights trailed by four at the break but turned on the jets in the second half and used a 21-6 run to stake a double-digit lead. Over that stretch, the Knights shot 10-of-17 from the floor and forced five Warrior turnovers.
 
On his team's slow start tonight head coach Greg Herenda said, "Their zone in the first half gave us fits but we were able to make some adjustments and got our fast break going and the sped the game up which was to our advantage."
 
Holloway did his damage in just 21 minutes of action. The second-year forward was an efficient 8-of-12 from the field and finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds on the night. O'Garro, the team's lone senior, was a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor and amassed his 14-point, 12-rebound double-double in 28 minutes of court time.
 
"The bottom line tonight was Tyrone and Mike. They were immense but the key was our second half defensive pressure. When we guard and rebound, we can be a very dangerous team."
 
After the Warriors knocked down 45.5 percent of their shots in the first half, the Knights limited them to 35.7 percent in the second stanza.
 
As a team, the Knights converted 45.8 percent of their shots from the floor, including better than 51 percent in the second half, however, the team struggled to connect from long range and made just 6-of-21 from 3-point range.
 
Four Knights scored in double figures as last year's leading scorer Darian Anderson (Washington, D.C./St. John's College ) poured in 13 points and sophomore guard Darnell Edge (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) finished with 10 to join Holloway and O'Garro.
 
Junior point guard Stephan Jiggetts (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) chipped in with a full line, tallying eight points to go along with six rebounds and six assists.
 
Coach Herenda enjoyed the experience of facing off against his alma mater -- "I am very proud to be an alum of Merrimack College and coach of Fairleigh Dickinson University."
 
The exhibition marks the final preseason tuneup before next Friday's season opener at defending Big East Champion Seton Hall. Tip off next Friday, November 11 is set for 7 p.m. at Walsh Gymnasium in South Orange, N.J. The game will be broadcast on FSN and YES Network.