TOWSON, Md. – Despite a career-high 33 points from Darian Anderson, which included his 1,000^th career point, the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team was edged 90-87 by Towson University at SECU Arena on Saturday afternoon.
 
Anderson accomplishes the milestone in just 71 career games. The junior guard has started all 71 of the Knights' games since his arrival in Hackensack. Anderson drained six 3-pointers on 11 tries and led all scorers in the loss. The six made 3-pointers are also a career-best for the junior guard.
 
The Knights held the Tigers without a single three-point field goal (0-7) but the home team countered by amassing 52 points in the paint. The zero three-pointers allowed was the first time that's happened for Fairleigh Dickinson since Army went 0-1 against the Knights back on December 13, 2008.
 
Stephan Jiggetts netted 25 points on just five made field goals as he did most of his damage at the line where he was 12-of-15 and from 3-point range where he knocked down three of his four tries.
 
Earl Potts Jr. was the lone other Knight to score in double-figures as he netted 13 points to go along with a team-high six rebounds in the loss. In their return to their home state, the trio of Anderson, Jiggetts and Potts Jr. accounted for 81.6 percent of the Knights' points on the afternoon. 
 
As has been the case with the last two times these teams have met, the game went down to the wire but the Tigers were able to convert enough free throws to hang on for the win. The last two seasons, the Knights have come away with one-point victories but Towson managed to turn the tide in this year's edition.
 
The Tigers shot 53 free throws as the two teams combined to commit 57 fouls in the contest. The 53 attempts from the charity stripe are the most the Knights have allowed since Sacred Heart attempted 54 back on December 1, 2001. That game resulted in a 133-130 loss for the Knights in overtime.

The Knights finished 27-of-60 (45%) overall, 12-of-28 (43%) from 3-point land, and 21-31 (68%) from the line. Towson totaled a 27-for-57 (47%) performance from the field and a 36-of-53 (68%) clip from the line.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson's 12 3-pointers are the most made in a game by the team since March 2, 2016 against Saint Francis U.

Following the loss, head coach Greg Herenda spoke, "We played really hard and really well for long segments of that game but in the second half, Towson was just too big and too strong for us. I am very proud of our effort tonight -- you can see our team coming together on a daily basis and it is only a matter of time before we gel into a very solid group in our conference."

On Anderson's milestone and the performance of his three scoring leaders today, Herenda added, "It was great for Darian, Steph and Earl to come back to their home state and to perform the way that they did. For Darian to get his 1,000th point in front of his family and friends was just awesome. I am so proud of Darian and the great thing is -- he has many more chapters to write at Fairleigh Dickinson."
 
The two teams traded massive runs over the course of the contest with each team holding and relinquishing double-digit leads throughout the game.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson came out firing with a 9-0 run highlighted by a pair of Potts Jr. 3-pointers. Potts netted eight of the team's first 11 points, however, after Potts' bucket, the Knights went without another hoop for seven minutes.
 
Towson responded with a 24-2 run before an Anderson layup finally stopped the bleeding.  Over that span, the Knights converted just 1-of-10 from the floor as the Tigers opened up at 28-16 lead at the eight-minute media timeout.
 
Although the Knights started just 5-of-20 (25%) overall from the field, they were locked in for the final seven minutes of the half. Stephan Jiggetts ignited the offense with a pair of trifectas, which cut the deficit to single-digits, 28-22 with 5:08 to play in the half.  
 
The Knights continued to surge from long range as Potts Jr. cashed in his third 3-pointer of the half, which brought the team to within one, 28-27. Potts Jr. finished with 11 points in the stanza.
 
The success continued for the Knights, who caught fire from behind the arc and opened up a 42-33 lead. Anderson was at the forefront as he went a perfect 4-for-4 from downtown en route to a half-high 16 points.
 
After the cold-shooting start, the Knights finished scorching hot as they connected on their final six shots of the half and carried a 43-33 lead into the locker room. In total, the Knights knocked down 9-of-16 (56.3%) from 3-point land in the half and held the Tigers to just to just nine made baskets on 36 percent. When the halftime whistle sounded, the Knights had finalized a 24-5 run.
 
Halftime came at the wrong time for the Knights as they made just one of their first five shots and turned the ball over three times in the first five minutes. The slow start allowed the Tigers to quickly erase the 10-point deficit as they captured a 53-48 lead with 15 minutes to play. Over that stretch, the Tigers outscored the Knights 20-5.
 
Towson took advantage of the Knights' miscues and turned five turnovers into 10 points at the other end of the floor. Jiggetts ended a seven-minute field goal drought for the Knights by converting a tough floater in the lane, which made it a 61-53 game.
 
Despite another five-minute stretch without a basket, the Knights made things interesting and clawed to within five in the final minute. Trailing 90-85, Nadi Beciri forced a Tigers' turnover but Anderson's desperation 3-pointer attempt rimmed out and the Tigers held on for the win.
 
Five Tigers registered double-figures led by John Davis and Mike Morsell, who each tallied 18 points. Davis netted a double-double by hauling in a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson returns to action when they travel to Piscataway, N.J. to square off against intrastate rival Rutgers University on Wednesday, December 14 at 7 p.m.