Box Score SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team earned a 91-77 victory over Bryant on Thursday night behind a balanced offensive attack that featured five players scoring in double figures. The Knights improve to 13-11 overall and 9-4 in the Northeast Conference, while the Bulldogs fall to 7-19 and 4-9 in the conference.
Freshman
Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, N.J./Arthur P. Schalick ) led the Knights with 20 points and six rebounds.
The Knights and Bulldogs went back-and-forth early in the first half, but FDU pulled away late in the period to take a 47-35 lead into the break. FDU held Bryant scoreless over the final 4:55 of the period and at the same time scored 10 points to build a double-digit lead for the first time in the game.
After FDU initially pushed its lead to 17 points early in the second half, Bryant used three-point shooting to climb back into the game. The Bulldogs remained in the game for most of the second half, but never seriously challenged the Knights for the lead. FDU maintained at least a seven-point lead throughout the half and then pulled away over the final two minutes.
Holloway's 20 points came on a 9-of-11 shooting performance. He was joined in double figures by sophomores
Earl Potts Jr. (Severn, Md./Archbishop Spalding ) (17),
Stephan Jiggetts (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) (16),
Darian Anderson (Washington, D.C./St. John's College ) (15) and
Marques Townes (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph (Metuchen)) (10). The FDU starters combined for 78 points and were a collective 29-of-51 shooting on the night.
Freshman
Malik Miller (Troy, N.Y./Catholic Central ) came off the bench and delivered eight points and five rebounds in 14 minutes of action.
"My team really relishes playing on the road. Bryant is so good offensively, but we just kept playing hard and eventually we came out of there with a big conference road win," head coach
Greg Herenda said on after the game. "We have five guys averaging double figures and tonight we had 17 assists. We are very unselfish and now we have a big man that can score around the basket. This really is a fun team to coach."
"We had a great road trip - now we need to get back to the Rothman Center and get that building going. I really hope our students, our alums and fans really get behind us. This is a fun team to cheer for."
The Knights closed the first half with a 10-0 run, which was sparked by a jumper from freshman
Darnell Edge (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties). That basket was followed by a dunk from Holloway and layups by Jiggetts, Townes and Miller to close out the period.
In the second half, Potts and Anderson each dropped in 11 points with Holloway, Townes and Jiggetts all scoring 6. Potts was four-of-four from the field and three-of-three from beyond the arc. Anderson and Jiggetts did most of their scoring at the free throw line going 6-of-6 and 4-of-5, respectively, in the period.
Townes finished the game with a team-high five assists.
Edge was credited with a team-high three steals in 12 minutes off the bench.
The Knights controlled the lane with a 46-34 advantage in the paint.
As a team the Knights shot 54.7% (35-of-64) from the field and hit 75% (15-of-20) at the free throw line.
FDU committed just 11 turnovers, while forcing 18 and held a 34-32 advantage on the boards.
All 11 players to see action for the Knights were underclassmen (sophomores or freshmen).
The Knights are currently tied for first in the NEC standings with Saint Francis U, but FDU holds a tiebreaker over the Red Flash by virtue of two head-to-head victories this season. Mount St. Mary's and Wagner currently share second place at 8-5.
The Knights return to action on Saturday night at 6 p.m. when they host Robert Morris at Stratis Arena inside the Rothman Center. That game can be seen live on MSG Network and NECFrontRow.com. Residents of Teaneck, New Jersey will be granted free admission to the game.
