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HACKENSACK, N.J. - The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team hosts Wagner on Thursday night in a rematch of the most thrilling game of the Northeast Conference season so far.  The Knights (13-12, 9-5 NEC) and Seahawks (16-9, 9-5 NEC) are two of the four teams currently tied for first place in the NEC standings, joined by Mount St. Mary's and Saint Francis U.  The winner of tonight's game is guaranteed to maintain at least a share of the conference lead.
 
The Knights have already clinched a playoff spot, but the final two weeks of the regular season will play a huge role in determining seeds and home games in the upcoming NEC Tournament.
 
Fans attending the game are encouraged to wear white in support of the Knights as we "WhiteOut" Stratis Arena.
 
GAME DETAILS
FDU (13-12, 9-5 NEC) vs. Wagner (16-9, 9-5 NEC)
Where: Stratis Arena - February 18, 2016 – 7:00 p.m.
Series History: Even 50-49
First Meeting: 12/16/55 – Wagner W, 83-68
Last Meeting: 2/4/16 – FDU W, 82-79 OT
Last FDU Win: 2/4/16 – FDU W, 82-79 OT
 
When these teams met on February 4 the game went to overtime with the Knights hitting three straight three-pointers to close the game on a 9-0 run.  The final three, from sophomore Earl Potts Jr. (Severn, Md./Archbishop Spalding ) came with 1.3 seconds remaining and gave the Knights a 82-79 victory.
 
NEC Regular Season Race:  FDU, Wagner, Mount and Saint Francis U have all clinched playoff spots, but the NEC standings are wide open with the four first place teams sitting at 9-5 and eighth place Robert Morris just three games back at 6-8.  Sacred Heart sits in fifth place, one game back, at 8-6 in conference.  St. Francis Brooklyn and LIU Brooklyn are currently tied for sixth place at 7-7.  The top four seeds in the NEC Tournament receive home games in the quarterfinals (March 2) and none of the four teams to secure a playoff spot have clinched a home game.  The final seeds will likely be determined by tiebreakers at the end of the season, but the Knights do control their own destiny in that they play Wagner (2/18), Sacred Hear (2/20) and Mount (2/25) over the next three games.
 
Holloway Earns Second NEC Rookie Award:  Freshman Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, N.J./Arthur P. Schalick ) earned his second NEC Rookie of the Week honor on Tuesday.  The 6-7 freshman forward shared the honor with Sacred Heart's Quincy McKnight.  Holloway was exceptional over two games shooting nearly 80% from the field and averaging 15.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.  He was named Bayer Player of the Game by NEC Television for his performance in FDU's 91-77 victory over Bryant on Thursday, February 11.
 
Series History:  By virtue of their victory on February 4 the Knights now hold a 50-49 advantage in the all-time series between these programs.  The victory by the Knights was their first at Wagner since February 5, 2009 and it also snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Seahawks.  Under head coach Greg Herenda the Knights are 1-4 against the Seahawks.
 
A Win Tonight:  A victory for the Knights would be the 14th of the season for FDU.  The Knights have not reached 14 wins in a season since the 2006-07 team finished the year 14-16.  It would also be the 10th NEC victory of the year for the Knights, matching the 2009-10 team's 10 conference wins for the most by an FDU squad since the 2005-06 team went 14-4 in the league and won the regular season title.
 
All Underclassmen: With redshirt junior Tyrone O'Garro (Newark, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) out with an injury on Thursday night, the Knights used 11 players at Bryant and all 11 were either a sophomore or freshman.  They followed that by again using all underclassmen again on Saturday against Robert Morris.