NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball held a 13-point lead early in the second half but could not hold off a furious rally by the Iona Gaels in an 82-75 loss at the Hynes Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
In a homecoming game, which featured a large contingent of his friends and family, Mount Vernon, New York native, freshman forward Noah Morgan recorded his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Morgan led five Knights in double figures, which included an 11-point, five-rebound, five-assist effort by senior guard Darian Anderson.
 
Jan Svandrlik's three-point shooting was a thorn in the Knights' side throughout the game as the Gaels' graduate forward finished with 27 points and buried 6-of-11 from behind the arc. Svandrlik made 7-of-12 overall and added six rebounds in the win.
 
The Knights shot 58.1 percent in the first half but were held to 37.5 percent in the second half, while the Gaels rebounded to shoot 41.9 percent in the second stanza after a 25.7 percent performance in the first.
 
The Gaels also earned a huge advantage at the free throw line where they made 33 trips, connecting on 26 (78.8 percent) compared to the Knights, who shot just six free throws in the game, making five.

On his team's performance, head coach Greg Herenda said, "That one is hard to swallow for everyone that wore a blue jersey today. I just told my team that I am very proud of their effort and grit and if we continue to play that way on the road, we will be building towards another championship."

Herenda continued, "If we finished around the basket more in the first half and especially early in the second half, that game could have been over but give Iona the credit. They have a number of very potent offensive players and they are very difficult in this building. We had five guys in double figures and had 17 assists but there is no defense for the foul line and ultimately, that was the biggest difference between the two teams today."
 
Both teams struggled mightily at the outset as the Gaels connected on just 1-of-9 to start, while the Knights missed their first four shots and trailed 3-0 at the first media timeout.
 
After the slow start, the Knights made back-to-back shots with a layup by Morgan and a three-pointer by Darnell Edge. Another three-pointer by Edge with 11:40 to play in the half gave the Knights their first lead 14-13.
 
A 4-for-4 start by sophomore Kaleb Bishop aided the Knights as the built a 23-16 lead with eight minutes to go in the opening stanza. Bishop finished a fastbreak layup and then corralled a loose ball and finished in traffic for four straight tallies. A three-pointer by Morgan and a throwdown by Bishop extended the Knights' lead to 28-19 and capped a 14-3 run.

Bishop led all scorers at the break with 14 points – one shy of his career-high – on 7-of-8 shooting and grabbed three boards. The sophomore forward missed his lone field goal attempt in the second half and totaled six boards on the afternoon.
 
The Gaels ended the spurt with five straight points, including an old-fashioned, three-point play on a dunk by Svandrlik. The Knights' edge stood at five, 30-25, at the four-minute media timeout. Over that span, FDU posted a 13-of-24 (54.2 percent) effort form the field, while the Gaels were 8-of-26 (30.8 percent).
 
A nifty finish in the paint by Anderson gave the Knights their first double-digit lead of the game, 37-27 with under three minutes to play in the half. Anderson was on his way to a triple-double at that point with five points, five rebounds and five assists – but the Knights' senior guard picked up his third foul and went to the bench for final two minutes of the stanza.
 
Williams' first three-pointer of the season resulted in the Knights' largest lead of the half 11 points, which was maintained after Mike Holloway Jr. dropped in a spinning, 360-degree layup for the final bucket of the half as the Knights carried a 42-31 edge into the locker room.
 
The Knights pushed the pace throughout the half and finished with a 58.1 percent (18-of-31) field goal percentage, which helped them overcome nine turnovers.  Defensively, the Knights held the Gaels to just 25.7 percent (9-of-35) overall and 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from behind the arc.
 
Morgan nailed a turnaround jumper from the elbow for the first bucket of the second half and the Knights built their largest lead of the game, 51-38, before three consecutive treys from Svandrlik quickly kickstarted an 11-0 run for the Gaels with under 12 to go.
 
Despite a three-pointer by Anderson, the momentum continued for the Gaels who tied the game at 54-54 after a trey by Schadrac Casimir. Moments later, Casimir put his team in front with another three-pointer with 9:37 to play. The Gaels connected on all five of their shots from distance during the 19-3 run, which spanned only four minutes. Casimir finished with 21 points in the win and made 4-of-6 from downtown.
 
The Knights slowed the Gaels' surge with back-to-back layups from Morgan and Holloway, which made it a 62-61 Iona lead with just under seven minutes to play.
 
The deficit remained at one until Svandrlik broke free for a wide-open three-pointer to make it a 69-65 game with 3:30 remaining. Jenkins answered for the Knights with a three-pointer but Rickey McGill immediately followed with a three-point play, which fouled out Holloway with 2:35 to go. McGill featured a full statline with 11 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in the win.
 
A pair of difficult layups by Jenkins willed the Knights to within three, 78-75, with 15.1 to go but the Gaels closed the game out at the free throw line.
 
Edge made three from long range and finished with 11 points for the Knights, while his backcourt mate Jenkins scored 10 with four rebounds and two assists.
 
The Knights return to action next Saturday, December 9 when they take on Rutgers at the RAC in Piscataway, N.J.