Game 10
Fairleigh Dickinson (3-6) at NJIT (5-6)
Date: Saturday, December 16, 2017
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Location: NJIT Wellness and Events Center – Newark, N.J.
Coverage: ESPN3 
Talent: Matt Provence and Rob Kennedy

The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team faces its second straight New Jersey opponent on the road on Saturday at NJIT.
 
The Series... NJIT leads 3-1
FDU at NJIT...0-1
Streak...L3
Last Meeting...NJIT 66, FDU 63 (1/14/13 at FDU)

Scouting NJIT: The Highlanders enter Saturday's matchup having dropped three straight. The Highlanders and Knights have suffered setbacks to common opponents lately in Iona and Rutgers. NJIT lost by nine at Rutgers on 12/7, dropped a home game 74-70 last Saturday to Iona and fell at Colgate 87-76 this past Tuesday. This year's squad is led by sophomore wing Anthony Tarke, who's scoring 14.1 points per game. Junior forward Abdul Lewis has been the key cog this season, averaging 10.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest. Lewis grabbed 15 boards against Iona and 10 at Colgate. NJIT posted an 11-20 mark last season and was picked eighth in the ASUN this season. They welcome the Knights on Saturday for the first time to their brand new gym the NJIT WEC.

Knights of Late: The Knights are in the midst of a seven-game road trip, which began with losses at MAAC opponents Saint Peter's and Iona. The Knights' difficult non-conference slate continued last Saturday as they took on Rutgers (10-3) at the RAC. The Knights were unable to break through against the Big Ten Scarlet Knights, who are top five in the nation in defense and rebounding. Freshman Noah Morgan has surged as of late, leading the Knights in scoring in the team's last two outings including a 16-point, 10-rebound performance at Iona on 12/2. The Mount Vernon, NY native is shooting 55 percent from the field and 50 percent from long range this season. The Knights close out their non-conference schedule this Thursday at Maryland.

Last Time Out: The Knights  were unable to breakthrough against the stingy defense of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in a 92-54 loss on Saturday night at the RAC. For the second straight outing, freshman forward Noah Morgan led the Knights (3-6) with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting to go along with four rebounds. Senior guard Darian Anderson finished with 12 points, totaled four rebounds and three assists, while junior forward Mike Holloway Jr. scored six points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. The Scarlet Knights (8-3), who entered the game first in the nation in offensive rebounding and third in total rebounds, won the battle on the glass 49-30. In addition to their work on the boards, the home team shot 53.2 percent from the field and 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from three-point range. Freshman guard Geo Baker and his junior backcourt mate Corey Sanders spearheaded the Scarlet Knights' attack with 19 points apiece. Baker amassed a double-double by dishing out 11 assists and scored his points on 7-of-11 shooting. The Knights were edged in the turnover battle 15-13 but the Scarlet Knights took nine more free throws (19-of-28) compared to FDU (11-of-19).

Herenda's postgame quotes - "What can I say -- Rutgers played very well for the entire forty minutes and we simply did not. When they shoot the ball, share the ball and rebound it like that, they are a very difficult team to deal with in this building."

"As far as ourselves, I really can't really explain it. We thought we had a great week of preparation but I think not playing for a week really hurt the rhythm that we were developing. It's hard to say but we will go back and figure things out and get better. We have played all quality opponents and this stretch of road games is difficult but we will eventually benefit from this adversity."

Similarities: Saturday's matchup features two teams with more similarities than just the 15 miles between campuses. The team's schedules feature six common opponents, including NEC foes LIU Brooklyn and Wagner, as well as, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Iona and Kean. Excluding LIU and Wagner  (who FDU plays later this season) both teams are 1-3 against the remaining four opponents. In addition to the schedule, the two teams both excel when it comes to taking the ball from opponents. NJIT is 21st in the nation in steals per game, while the Knights sit one spot back at 22. Each team features four or more players averaging 1+ steal per game.

Morgan's Momentum: Freshman forward Noah Morgan has led the Knights in scoring in each of the team's last two games. Morgan scored a team-high 13 points against Rutgers on Saturday and netted a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards at Iona. His 14 made 3-pointers are second most on the team.

Bishop Likes Iona: In last season's game against the Gaels, sophomore forward Kaleb Bishop totaled 13 first-half points.  In the game against the Gaels this past Saturday, Bishop scored 14 first-half points on 7-of-8 shooting.

Record Book Update: Darian Anderson scored 21 points and tallied five steals in the Knights' loss at Saint Peter's on 11/29. He now ranks 10th all-time in FDU history with 1,421 points and second in steals with 183.

Give Us That: Featuring one of the program's most adept defenders in Anderson, the Knights added a slew of speedy counterparts this season including freshman guard Jahlil Jenkins. Jenkins nabbed five steals against Princeton, while junior guard Darnell Edge totaled seven against Kean, which has helped the Knights to a 9.4 steals per game average this season -- 22nd best in the NCAA.

Turn it Over: The Knights nabbed a program-record 19 steals in the win against Kean and forced 31 turnovers. Junior guard Darnell Edge was at the forefront of the effort with seven steals of his own (most by a Knight since Sean Baptiste totaled seven on 1/10/09 against CCSU.)

Dish it Out: In the lopsided win over FDU-Florham on 11/15, the Knights totaled 27 assists. That total is the most in a game since the team dished out 28 helpers in a 122-115 overtime loss to LIU Brooklyn back on February 23, 2002.

Herenda History: Herenda's win over Holy Cross on 11/22 was his 50th with the Knights and 175th as a head coach. Across his time with the Knights, Herenda has logged five wins over Final Four programs Holy Cross Princeton, Rutgers, Seton Hall and St. Joseph's. He's the fourth FDU head coach to reach 50 wins with the program.

Next Up: The Knights conclude non-conference action next Thursday, December 21 when they take on Maryland in College Park, Md. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPNU.