BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. – The first-place Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team kicks off a two-game road trip on Thursday against St. Francis Brooklyn.
These teams met last Thursday in Hackensack and the Knights (9-10, 7-1 NEC) prevailed with a 57-40 victory. The 40 points were the fewest the Knights have surrendered since December 7, 1992 when they defeated NCAA Division III Montclair State University 79-38.
The Knights have won three straight, while the Terriers (4-17, 2-6 NEC) have dropped their last six games.
Notes:
FDU –St. Francis Brooklyn
NEC Weekly Release
Videos:
FDU Men's Basketball Report 1/25
NEC on the Run
NEC Top 9
Game Information:
Fairleigh Dickinson University (9-10, 7-1 NEC) at St. Francis Brooklyn (4-17, 2-6 NEC)
Where: Pope Physical Education Center – Brooklyn Heights, N.Y.
When: Saturday, January 21 – 4:00 p.m.
Series History: FDU leads the all-time series 54-40
First Meeting: Jan. 10, 1955 (SFC W, 61-52)
Last Meeting: Jan. 19, 2017– (FDU W, 57-40) The Knights held the Terriers to just 17 first-half points, which is the fewest they have conceded since January 15, 2000 when they held Sacred Heart to 16 in the second half of a 67-48 victory. Mike Holloway narrowly missed a double-double with 13 points and nine boards on 6-of-10 from the field, while freshman forward Kaleb Bishop and junior guard Darian Anderson joined Holloway in double figures with 12 points apiece on the night. Bishop added six rebounds and sparked the defensive charge with a career-best five steals.
Broadcast Information:
Watch: NEC Front Row
Stats: Live Stats
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#uKnighted
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St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers:
The Terriers enter Thursday's contest having dropped six straight games. Despite the struggles, the team has played much better at home where they are 2-2 in NEC play. They have also won five straight home games against the Knights.
Inside the Pope Physical Education Center this season, the Terriers have played much better overall, averaging 11.2 more points per game. In conference contests at home the Terriers have shot 39.2 percent from the floor compared to just 29 percent on the road.
Last time out, the Terriers dropped a home game to Mount St. Mary's 55-47. Mount Saint Mary's, who are tied with the Knights for first in the NEC, received a game-high 18 points from junior guard Junior Robinson in the win.
Freshman Rasheem Dunn, who has reached double-digits in scoring in seven of the last eight contests, led St. Francis Brooklyn with 12 points and the guard tied his career-high with nine rebounds. Senior guard Yunus Hopkinson contributed 10 points and tied his career-high with four steals.
The Terriers continue to fire away from long range and have taken 130 more 3-pointers than the next closest team in the NEC. Sophomore guard Glenn Sanabria is second in the NEC with 54 made 3-pointers on the season. Sanabria is averaging 2.57 made 3-pointers per game.
Notable Ranks:
Three-point attempts – 563 NCAA 11th/NEC 1st
Offensive Rebounds per game – 13.24 NCAA 28th/NEC 3rd
Turnover Margin – +2.0 63rd NCAA/NEC 1st
Steals per game – 7.2 NCAA 79thth/NEC 2nd
Head Coach: Glenn Braica (Queens College '89)
Record at St. Francis: 67-47 (.587) – (Seventh Season)
Team Leaders:
Points: Rasheem Dunn 13.4 ppg
Rebounds: Gunnar Olafsson 5.7 rpg
Assists: Glenn Sanabria 2.6 apg
Last Time Out for the Knights:
Led by junior guard Darian Anderson's 25 points and another strong team defensive effort, the Knights maintained their spot atop the Northeast Conference Standings by defeating LIU Brooklyn 83-66 at Stratis Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Anderson led the Knights with 25 points on an efficient 6-for-9 (66.7%) shooting performance from the field and a 11-for-12 (91.7%) effort from the free throw line. The junior guard filled up the box score with a team-high nine rebounds to go along with five assists and three steals.
The Knights defense held their opponent below its scoring average for the third straight game as they forced 18 LIU miscues in the win.
Over the last five games, the Knights have forced an average of 17 turnovers. The victory also snapped LIU Brooklyn's (13-8, 6-2 NEC) six-game winning streak.
Stephan Jiggetts also filled up the box score for FDU with 14 points, six assists and four rebounds in the win.
Herenda's Take:
"That was a quality win against a quality opponent. That was a team effort from top to bottom – and again – that is how we have been practicing day in and day out."
"It is great to coach great guards and today Darian and Steph showed just how good they are. On top of that, Mike Holloway is playing way more consistently and with great poise. We are still a work in progress, but trust me, I love working with this group of young men. It is an honor and a privilege."
"In Earl's absence, Kaleb is doing many things for us but his ability to rebound, score and steal the ball is special for such a young player."
News and Notes:
Best Start: At 7-1, the Knights have matched their best NEC start since the 2004-05 season. The team's best start prior to that was 8-1 in the 1997-98 campaign.
NEC Player of the Week: Junior guard Darian Anderson was named NEC Player of the Week this week for the second time this season. Anderson helped the Knights to a 2-0 week by averaging 18.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.5 steals per contest. Against LIU Anderson scored a game-high 25 points on just nine shots, while adding nine rebounds, five assists and three steals
Coach Herenda on Anderson receiving the honor again, ""I am so happy that Darian is again being recognized by our conference. Darian continues to play with great toughness and skill, but his sole focus is on winning and therein lies his best quality -- he is a winner and he plays on a team full of them."
Defense Does It: Last Thursday, the Knights held St. Francis to 17 first-half points. The 17 points were the fewest they have conceded since January 15, 2000 when they held Sacred Heart to 16 in the second half of a 67-48 victory. The 40 total points allowed to St. Francis are the fewest the Knights have surrendered since December 7, 1992 when they defeated NCAA Division III Montclair State University 79-38.
Paint Prominence: Coach Herenda's emphasis on attacking the basket paid off in the win over St. Francis as the Knights dominated 36-6 in points in the paint. FDU also grabbed 43 rebounds their second most in a game this season.
The NEC Road: Across their last 13 conference road games, the Knights are 10-3, which is the 16th best mark in the nation over that span.
Mike's Makes: Sophomore forward Mike Holloway has made 66.7 percent of his shots in conference play this season. Holloway is an impressive 40-for-60 in conference games, which is tops in the NEC.
Freshman Flowing: First-year forward Kaleb Bishop helped the Knights force 19 turnovers against St. Francis last game by nabbing a career-high five steals. The five thefts are also the most by a Knight this season. Bishop has shown impressive flashes in his first season with the Knights including an 11-point, eight-rebound effort against Ohio State and a 13-point, seven-rebound effort against Iona.
Charitable Donations: All season long the Knights have thrived at the free throw line. The team has posted a 75.4 percent clip overall, including a 80.3 percent effort in NEC play. Both figures are tops in the conference while the 75.4 percent overall number is 32nd 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 guest is Tara Sullivan from the Bergen Record.
Next up:
The Knights are off to Smithfield, R.I. to take on Bryant University this Saturday, January 28. Game time is set for noon and the game will be televised on MSG+.
