EMMITSBURG, Md.  – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team will look to remain unbeaten in Northeast Conference action when it begins a short two-game road trip on Thursday night at Mount St. Mary's (5-12, 3-1 NEC).
 
These teams met three times last season, including the semifinals of the NEC Tournament, where the Knights won 80-75 on Mar. 5 in Hackensack. The first matchup resulted in an 87-82 win for the Mount in Hackensack on Jan. 24 before the Knights won 67-54 in Emmitsburg on Feb. 25.

Notes: FDU Notes – Mount Notes

FDU Men's Basketball Report 1/11

NEC Weekly Basketball Release 1/9
Watch: NEC on the Run 1/12
 
Game Information:
Fairleigh Dickinson University (6-9, 4-0 NEC) vs. Mount St. Mary's University (5-12, 3-1 NEC)
Where: Knott Arena – Emmitsburg, Md.
When: Thursday, January 12 – 7:00 p.m.
Series History: FDU leads the all-time series 28-26
First Meeting:   Feb. 15, 1956 (Mount W, 97-65)
Last Meeting:  Mar. 5, 2016 – (FDU W, 80-75) Mike Holloway scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds as the Knights advanced to the NEC Championship Game. Earl Potts Jr. scored a team-high 20 points. FDU trailed the Mountaineers by double-digits in the first half, but rallied to tie the game late in the first half and then used a strong defensive effort in the second half to earn the victory.

Broadcast Information:
Watch: NECFrontRow 
Stats: Live Stats

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Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers:
The Mount enters Thursday's contest tied for second in the NEC standings at 3-1. Three of the four games have come down to the wire including the team's first two victories.
 
The Mountaineers opened the NEC slate with a two-point win at LIU Brooklyn and a one-point victory against Wagner in their NEC home opener. Following the 2-0 start, the Mountaineers suffered a one-point setback at Bryant, 72-71.
 
In their last contest, the Mountaineers found some breathing room as they topped Central Connecticut State 77-68 in New Britain, Conn.
 
Freshman guard Miles Wilson netted a team-high 21 points in the win, while junior forward Chris Wray registered 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four blocks.
 
Wilson went 8-for-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line as the freshman registered the second 20-plus point effort of his young career and his seventh double-digit scoring performance in his last eight games.
 
The Mountaineers rank in the middle of the pack in the NEC across most categories this season. The one figure that stands out is their shot-blocking ability. Led by Madwo Sallah and Wray, the Mountaineers are tops in the NEC at 3.88 bpg. Sallah, the sophomore forward and team leader in rebounds, leads the team and ranks second in the conference with 1.12 per contest (19 total). Wray has 17 blocks in as many games.
 
Thursday marks the first of two straight home games for the Mount as they welcome Saint Francis U on Saturday, January 14 at 4 p.m.

Head Coach: Jamion Christian (Mount St. Mary's '04)
Record at Mount St. Mary's: 63-65 (.492) – (Fifth Season)

Team Leaders:
Points: Elijah Long 14.0 ppg
Rebounds: Mawdo Sallah 5.9 rpg
Assists: Elijah Long 3.6 apg
 
Last Time Out for the Knights:
A blistering shooting performance in the first half propelled the Knights to an 87-84 victory over Bryant University on Saturday afternoon at Stratis Arena.
 
The Knights nearly squandered a 22-point halftime lead but held off a furious rally by the Bulldogs to prevail with the win and remain unbeaten in NEC play.
 
Junior point guard Stephan Jiggetts was one of five Knights to score in double figures on the afternoon as he paced the squad with 20 points and a game-high six assists. Jiggetts was a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown, buried 5-of-7 (71.4%) overall, and all seven of his free throw attempts in the win. 
 
The Knights knocked down a season-high 13 3-pointers in the win on 19 attempts, their largest output since drilling 15 against FDU-Florham back on November 17, 2014.
 
Bryant fought its way to within one in the final minute and had a last-chance, half-court, game-tying 3-pointer sail off the mark as Fairleigh Dickinson escaped with the victory.

Herenda's Take: 
"That was truly a tale of two halves -- we were incredible in the first half and Bryant was great in the second half. It is a 40-minute game and if you do not take care of the ball that is what can happen to you. I cannot lie, the late Wagner game took a toll on us and we did not have much left in the tank but give Bryant credit. They are really talented and never gave in."
 
"Once again, Stephan Jiggetts was our rock in the middle of a crazy, crazy game."
 
"We are 4-0 and need rest and that is exactly what we are going to do."

News and Notes: 
Streak Talk: Dating back to last season's tremendous, late-season run, the Knights have now won nine consecutive NEC contests. The streak is the team's longest since they won 11 straight conference games back in the 2005-06 season.
 
The nine straight conference wins equals the third longest active streak in the nation (including conference tournaments). The Knights only trail Kansas and Oregon, who have won 16 and 12 consecutive conference games, respectively.
 
Including last season's NEC Championship Game, the Knights are 9-2 on the road in conference over their last 11 outings.
 
With the win at Wagner, the Knights became the first team since 2011 (LIU Brooklyn) to win three straight games at Spiro Sports Center.
 
4-0 Start: For the first time since the 1996-97 season, the Knights are 4-0 to begin NEC play. The team began that '92-93 conference slate with six consecutive conference victories.
 
First-Half Firing: In last Saturday's win over Bryant, the Knights buried nine of 11 3-pointers in the first half. The nine first-half treys were the most in a half by the team since Feb. 20, 2014 against the same Bulldog squad. The Knights finished with 56 points in the stanza, which is second most this season behind their 58-point outburst in the second half against Lipscomb. The program's high came against Princeton in 2014 when the Knights amassed 64 second-half points in a win.
 
Surging Steph: Stephan Jiggetts is averaging career-highs across the board this season. The junior point guard has been rolling as of late, averaging 18.5 points and 6.5 assists per game over the Knights' last two wins. Jiggetts currently leads the NEC in assists per game at 4.93.
 
Big Mike: Last time these two teams met, sophomore forward Mike Holloway had a night to remember. Holloway totaled 19 points and a career-high 17 rebounds as the Knights advanced to the NEC Championship Game.
 
Charitable Donations: All season long the Knights have thrived at the free throw line. The team has posted a 75.5 percent clip overall, including an 86.1 percent effort in NEC play. Both figures are tops in the conference while the 75.5 percent overall number is 31st best in the nation. 
 
Be My Guest: Tune in every Sunday to "The Greg Herenda Show" on WFDU and iHeartRadio. All broadcasts can be found at fduknights.com/herendashow. This week's show features current CBS Sports Network basketball commentator and former college basketball coach Steve Lappas. Lappas is also the father of the Knights' Director of Basketball Ops., Pete Lappas.
 
 
FDU Notable Ranks: 
                                                NCAA/NEC Rank
Fewest Turnovers:   186          64th/1st
Free Throw %:        75.5%      31st/1st
Ast/TO Ratio:         1.09         145th/2nd
Scoring                  74.7 ppg  161st/2nd
 
Next up:
The Knights continue this two-game road trip when they head up to New Britain, Connecticut to face Central Connecticut State on Saturday, January 14 at 3:30 p.m.