Box Score

HACKENSACK, N.J. – Freshman Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, N.J./Arthur P. Schalick ) scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds to power the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team into the 2016 Northeast Conference Championship Game.  Sophomore Earl Potts Jr. (Severn, Md./Archbishop Spalding ) scored a team-high 20 points to help the #2  Knights (17-14, 11-7 NEC) to the 80-75 victory over Mount St. Mary's in Saturday's Northeast Conference Semifinal.  FDU trailed the #5 Mountaineers (14-19, 9-9 NEC) by double-digits in the first half, but rallied to tie the game late in the first period and then used a strong defensive effort in the second half to earn the victory.

With the Knights trailing 65-63 with 4:53 left to play, Potts connected on a three-pointer from the top of the arc to give FDU the lead.  Holloway hit two free throws on the ensuing possession and then freshman Darnell Edge (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) banked in a three-pointer to cap an 8-0 run that put FDU in front 71-65 with 3:23 left in the game.

Mount chipped away at the lead, but each time FDU had an answer.

Mount's Gregory Graves made it a two-point game with a layup just before the two minute mark, but sophomore Darian Anderson (Washington, D.C./St. John's College ) followed with a jumper to push the FDU lead back to four.  A pair a free throws by Mount's Junior Robinson made it a 73-71 game, but Potts knocked down a three-pointer to push the lead back to five points.

The Mount's final points came with 13 seconds remaining as Robinson cut to the basket for a layup to make it a 78-75 game.  After a FDU turnover and a pair of missed free throws for the Mount, Potts stepped to the line and hit two free throws to push the FDU lead to 80-75 with just five seconds left to play.

"The world saw the real Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, N.J./Arthur P. Schalick ) today and he was special," head coach Greg Herenda said after the game.  "Mike literally put our team on his back and brought us to the championship game.  That was a terrific college basketball and Mount St. Mary's gave us a tremendous game.  They came out early and were terrific but we just kept playing and somehow hung around."
 
"Now we have 40 more minutes to achieve our goal.  Right now we're not sure who we will be playing or where, but regardless we will have to play our best 40 minutes or more."
 
After using the three-point shot to win their quarterfinal matchup the Knights defeated Mount by dominating under the basket.  Largely because of the play of Holloway, FDU held a 44-26 advantage on points in the paint.  Holloway also helped the Knights hold a 39-31 advantage in rebounding.
 
Potts led the Knights with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting.  He was followed closely by Holloway who posted 19 points.  Anderson (14) and sophomore Stephan Jiggetts (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) (12) also scored in double figures.
 
Holloway recorded his third career double-double with his career-high 17 rebounds.  He is the first FDU player to register 17 boards in a game since John Galvin against St. Francis Brooklyn on January 29, 2011.  Galvin had 20 points in that game.
 
Potts narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds to go with his 20 points.
 
Mount jumped out to an early 12-point lead with strong three-point shooting and finished the first period 7-of-12 from behind the arc.  The FDU defensive adjusted and held the Mountaineers to 1-of-11 from long range in the second half and to just a 33.3% (9-of-27) mark from the floor.
 
The momentum really turned in the Knights favor with 6:46 left to play as Holloway blocked Graves' shot and then ran the floor to finish at with a dunk on the other end.
 
"I know guys feed off of me and one guy makes a great play and then everybody is like 'let's go, let's go, let's go.'  That's when I knew it was our game and we have to finish it up," commented Holloway when asked about the play.
 
The Knights shot 49.2% (30-of-61) from the field and 30.8% (4-of-13) from beyond the arc.  The Knights shot 72.7% (16-of-22) at the free throw line, including 12-of-15 in the second half.
 
The Mount shot 41.1% (23-of-56) from the floor, 34.8% (8-of-23) from long range and 75% (21-of-28) at the free throw line.
 
FDU committed 11 turnovers in the game and also forced Mount into 11.
 
The Knights will travel to #1 Wagner on Tuesday night (March 8) at 7 p.m. for the 2016 NEC Championship Game.  The Knights and Seahawks split their regular season meetings with the road team wining each time.  The championship game appearance is the first for the Knights since the program hosted the 2006 NEC Championship Game.