Game 3
Fairleigh Dickinson (0-2) vs. FDU-Florham (0-0)
Date: Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Stratis Arena (Rothman Center) – Hackensack, N.J.
Coverage: NEC Front Row – Talent: Sitesh Shah
 
The Knights: The Knights opened the season with a pair of tough road losses at No. 23 Seton Hall (90-68) and Penn State (81-57) on Friday and Sunday, respectively.  Junior forward Mike Holloway Jr. averaged 16 points in the two losses, while freshman point guard Jahlil Jenkins averaged nine points, six assists and four rebounds. In Sunday's loss at PSU, turnovers were the story in the contest as the two teams combined to commit 54 miscues on the night. The Nittany Lions (2-0) used their length and aggressiveness to jump into passing lanes and turn the Knights over 31 times, while the Knights' (0-2) defense caused PSU to total 23 miscues. Holloway's 19 points in the loss came via a 6-of-12 (50%) shooting performance from the field and a 6-of-7 effort at the line. Jenkins reached double-figures for the first time in his young career scoring 14 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists, while fellow freshmen Noah Morgan and Elyjah Williams each finished with seven points. Sophomore guard Tony Carr led five Nittany Lions in double-figures by scoring a game-high 20 points with seven assists and four rebounds. Carr's backcourt mate junior Josh Reaves also filled up the box score, scoring 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting with nine rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Herenda's postgame quotes - "Tonight was eerily like the Seton Hall game. We came out and got off to a great start and were down three at the eight-minute media timeout. Give Penn State a ton of credit, they are long and talented and obviously, their pressure really hurt us tonight."
"On nights like tonight, you have to look on the bright side and Mike Holloway was our shining star. Mike went toe-to-toe with (Mike) Watkins and their big guys and really played a great floor game on both ends," Herenda continued. "You have to give credit to Jahlil as well. He went into a BIG EAST and a Big Ten arena and averaged nine points and six assists in his first two collegiate games. We just took two hard hits but trust me, these nights will pay off big dividends for our team."

The Devils: The Devils finished last season with an 8-17 record, and 5-9 in conference. The team ended the season with consecutive wins over Manhattanville and King's College (Pa.). FDU-Florham is selected to finish sixth in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom this season. The Devils will look to leadership from two seniors Steve Herdman and Veon Lassiter, who return for one final season in Madison. Lassiter averaged 7.1 points per game last season in 17 games, while Herdman had 7.5 ppg in 18 games while making 17 starts. Junior Anthony Mitchell is back after leading the team with 12.7 points per game and 3.4 assists per game, while also knocking down a team-high 35 treys.
 
Home Sweet Home: Wednesday marks the first of four straight home games for the Knights. The four-game homestand is the longest of the Greg Herenda-era and also the team's longest since 2013. After the tilt with the Devils, the Knights welcome Kean (Nov. 18), Holy Cross (Nov. 22) and Princeton (Nov.26) to the Rothman Center before spending their final seven games of 2017 on the road.
 
Freshman Tested: Freshman point guard Jahlil Jenkins began his collegiate career with a pair of difficult tests in two big time college basketball arenas. Jenkins held his own against No. 23 Seton Hall at the Prudential Center and at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center, averaging 9.0 ppg, 6.0 apg, and 4.0 rpg. The first-year point guard seemed undaunted by the big stage, dishing out eight assists against the nationally-ranked Pirates and scoring 13 points at PSU.
 
Holloway Holds His Own: Facing some of the country's toughest big men, including preseason All-American Angel Delgado of Seton Hall, Mike Holloway Jr.  averaged a team-high 16 ppg. The junior forward, who was 0-2 from three-point range in his career, knocked down the Knights' first basket of the season with a 3-pointer at Seton Hall. He also made a trey against PSU and is 2-for-4 on the season.
 
Fresh Faces: In addition to the aforementioned Jenkins, the Knights have received early contributions from first-year players Elyjah Williams, Pat McNamara and Noah Morgan. Williams started each of the first two games and has provided the team with solid intangibles, a physical presence and a team-best three steals. McNamara and Morgan have combined to knock down 4-of-5 from behind the arc in their 17 and 16 minutes per game, respectively.

Staff Update: Herenda and longtime associate head coach Bruce Hamburger are back but they will be joined by two new staff members this season. Last year's Director of Basketball Ops., Pete Lappas has moved down a seat to the assistant coach spot, while former Knight and Iowa Hawkeye, Darius Stokes has been appointed into Lappas' former role. The biggest addition to the staff is experienced assistant coach Pat Sellers. Sellers, who played for the NEC's Central Connecticut St. Blue Devils, joins the Knights after tenures with Creighton, UConn, Hofstra and most recently, DePaul. Sellers brings a wealth of knowledge and has coached several professional players including 2014 National Player of the Year, Doug McDermott.
 
Next up for the Knights: FDU continues its four-game homestand with another NCAA Division III opponent when Kean University comes to town this Saturday, November 18. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. at the Rothman Center.