WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team suffered a 97-78 setback to Army West Point at Christl Arena on Wednesday night.
With the loss, the Knights drop to 2-4 on the campaign, while the Black Knights improve to 3-4.
Darian Anderson paced the Knights with 22 points and seven rebounds, while
Stephan Jiggetts joined him in double-digits with 15 points in the loss.
Five Black Knights scored in double figures led by Jordan Fox and Matt Wilson, who tallied 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Army shot 60.3 percent from the floor and thrived from long range, hitting 12-of-23 (52.2%) on three-pointers. The home team also outrebounded FDU 39-27 in the contest but the Knights won the turnover battle 12-9.
Following tonight's game, head coach
Greg Herenda said, "Army was the best 2-4 team in America coming into tonight's game. Give them all the credit -- they played great offense and every time we made a run they responded immediately."
FDU finished the game 28-for-61 (45.9%) from the field but struggled to find the touch from distance and finished just 6-of-21 (28.6%) from three-point land.
Army was also aided by its bench play, which amassed 44 points in the win.
FDU forced turnovers on Army's first three possessions but a slow shooting start (4-for-14) by the Knights allowed the Black Knights to capture an early 18-10 lead.
Midway through the period, Anderson scored seven straight points to bring FDU within three, 27-24, but Army countered with a 9-2 spurt.
The home team had an answer each time FDU gained momentum. An old-fashioned three-point play by Jiggetts pulled the Knights to within six, but a three-pointer by Jacob Kessler and an easy fast break layup from Jordan Fox capped the half and gave the Army a 49-38 lead at intermission.
Anderson and Jiggetts carried the Knights' offense in the first half, combining for 23 of the team's 38 first-half tallies. Anderson chipped in five rebounds and three steals in the first stanza as FDU forced eight first-half turnovers, however, Army overcame their miscues by knocking down 19-of-33 (57.6%) from the field including six shots from downtown.
The Black Knights were aided by 21 bench points in the first half, highlighted by senior forward Kennedy Edwards and freshman forward Matt Wilson, who tallied eight and seven points, respectively.
Army extended its lead by opening the second half with an 8-1 run including a pair of three-pointers by Kessler and Fox.
After Army enhanced its lead to 19 points, the Knights chipped away with a 9-2 run of their own, highlighted by five points from freshman
Kaleb Bishop which closed the gap to 12, 74-62 with 9:19 to play. Bishop finished with eight points on the night, including a pair of treys.
Despite the push from FDU, Army rebuilt its cushion by knocking down seven of its next 10 shots, which prevented the Knights from getting any closer.
On his team's performance, Herenda added, "We just have to hang in there and stay the course. We had a number of guys step up and give us good minutes but we need to guard and run offense better collectively. We will get there."
FDU is back in action this Saturday, December 3 as it continues non-conference play in Columbus, Ohio against The Ohio State University. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. at Value City Arena.
