EMMITSBURG, Md. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team fought valiantly to overcome an 18-point deficit but suffered their first Northeast Conference loss of the season, falling 77-70 at Mount Saint Mary's on Thursday night.
 
The Knights (6-10, 4-1 NEC) fought all the way back to tie the game in the final three minutes but the Mount (6-12, 4-1 NEC) was able to force key turnovers down the stretch and earn the victory.
 
The loss ends the Knights' nine-game conference winning streak and puts them into a three-way tie atop the NEC standings with the Mountaineers and LIU Brooklyn.

"When you play with fire you will eventually get burnt and we did tonight," said Greg Herenda following the loss. "We came out and let Mount St. Mary's do whatever they wanted in the first half offensively and it cost us. 

"We have to put things in proper perspective -- that was our first conference loss in the last 10 games. We lost in a historically difficult building so we have to own this one, get on the bus and get ready for Central on Saturday."
 
Junior guard Darian Anderson led all scorers with a game-high 24 points and added four rebounds and three assists to his ledger in the loss. Anderson connected on 9-of-19 (47.3%) from the field, while Mike Holloway notched 18 points and seven rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting.
 
After struggling offensively in the first half, the Knights rebounded in the second and shot 54.8 percent from the field. The Mount thrived at the offensive end, earning quality looks throughout and finished with a 54.8 percent shooting effort, including a 12-of-20 (60%) effort in the second stanza. They also dished out 22 assists compared to the Knights' six. 
 
The Mount held the Knights to their lowest field goal percentage in a half this season at 30.4 percent in the first.
 
Elijah Long netted a double-double for the Mount in the win with 14 points and 12 assists. He also added seven rebounds.
 
An 8-for-12 start pushed the Mountaineers out to an 20-8 lead in the early going. Greg Alexander sparked the home team with a pair of treys and eight points over that stretch, as the Knights struggled with a 2-for-8 start.
 
The Knights started 5-for-18 and missed their first four from downtown until Earl Potts Jr. and Malik Miller connected on back-to-back treys. However, the Mount answered both of those 3-pointers with their own and led 31-16 with five to play in the half.
 
Led by Alexander's 16 first-half points, the Mount carried a 43-28 lead into halftime. The Knights struggled to find the touch and finished the stanza with just seven made baskets (7-for-23) a 30.4 percent effort.
 
The Mount connected on 55.2 percent (16-of-29) including 5-of-12 (41.7%) from behind the arc. The home team also excelled in the paint, utilizing their pick-and-roll offense to generate 22 first-half points in the paint.
 
Alexander led the strong shooting performance for the Mountaineers with a 6-for-9 (66.7%) performance, which included four 3-pointers. The junior forward finished with a team-best 19 points on the night.
 
Holloway paced the Knights with eight points at the break and four rebounds. The sophomore forward knocked down all six of his free throw attempts in the stanza and finished 8-of-9 overall at the charity stripe.
 
The teams traded threes out of the break but the Knights built a little momentum with a quick 6-0 spurt to get within 11, 48-37, in the first two minutes. Using full court pressure, the Knights changed the tempo and pushed their run to 11-2 and cut the deficit to single-digits, 50-42, at the first media timeout of the period.
 
After the Mount briefly rebuilt its lead to 13, the Knights stormed back with 10-3 run, highlighted by a steal and breakaway dunk by Potts Jr., which made it a six-point game, 58-52, at the 11:34 mark.
 
The Mount's lead floated around six points until the final four minutes when the Knights pulled to within one-possession for the first time all night. Two lay-ups apiece by Holloway and Anderson made it a 70-68 game with 3:16 to play in regulation.
 
On the Mount's next possession, Holloway stole a pass at the top of the key and finished with a spinning layup on the other end to tie the game at 70.  
 
The Mount regained control by forcing a pair of turnovers and converting them into fast break lay-ups, which resulted in a 74-70 lead with 37.6 to go. Long drew a key offensive foul as they scored the final seven points of the game to seal the win. 

Herenda added, "We need to play for the entire 40 minutes on every second of every possession and we will eventually get to that point but we are not there yet."
 
In the loss, Potts Jr. joined Holloway and Anderson in double figures with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
 
Five Mountaineers reached double figures including Junior Robinson, who tallied 16 to go along with seven assists.
 
The Knights continue their two-game road trip on Saturday, January 14 when they travel to New Britain, Conn. to take on Central Connecticut State at 3:30 p.m.