Game 11
Fairleigh Dickinson (3-7) at Maryland (10-3)
Date: Thursday, December 21, 2017
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: XFINITY Center – College Park, Md.
Coverage: ESPNU
Talent: Dave Leno and Tim Welsh
Live Stats

The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team concludes non-conference action on Thursday against the Maryland Terrapins at the XFINITY Center.
 
The Series... Maryland leads 6-0
FDU at Maryland...0-6
Streak...L6
Last Meeting... Maryland 111, FDU 85 (11/18/05 at Maryland)
 
Scouting Maryland: On Saturday, the Terps will return to the court for the first time since they defeated Division III Catholic University on December 12 at the XFINITY Center. The team has won its last four games with victories over Illinois, Ohio, Gardner Webb and Catholic. Saturday's tilt with the Knights is Maryland's fourth game in their six-game homestand. Sophomore guard Anthony Cowan leads the team with 15.8 points and 4.5 assists per outing and is one of three Terrapins scoring in double figures along with Kevin Huerter (13.8 ppg) and Bruno Fernando (10.2 ppg). Following Saturday's game, the Terps close out their non-conference slate against in-state foe UMBC on 12/29.
 
Knights of Late: The Knights are in the final stretch of a seven-game road trip, which began on November 29 at Saint Peter's and concludes with the team's first two NEC games at LIU (12/29) and Sacred Heart (12/31). Despite losses in the first four games of the trip, the Knights have played competitive basketball, most recently, holding a double-digit, second-half lead at Iona and a late edge in the final two minutes at NJIT. Over the four-game road stretch, freshman forward Noah Morgan is averaging 10 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game on 43.2 percent shooting. The Knights are 0-1 this season in games against Big Ten opponents (Rutgers).
           
Last Time Out: The Knights were edged by NJIT, 71-68, at the NJIT Wellness and Events Center on Saturday afternoon. The Highlanders (6-6) scored 10 of the game's final 13 points and survived Darian Anderson's game-tying three-point attempt to escape with the win. Anderson, who led all scorers with 18 points in the loss, had a game-tying look from 22 feet away but it caromed out as time expired. The Knights led by two with 1:50 to play, however, the Highlanders netted the game's final five points to take the victory. Four Knights scored in double figures including junior guard Darnell Edge with 14 and junior forward Mike Holloway Jr., who had 13 and eight boards. Freshman point guard Jahlil Jenkins scored 10 and dished out seven assists to go along with a 2-for-3 performance from downtown. The West Virginia native totaled two steals including a crucial theft in the final minute, which gave the Knights their first game-tying opportunity. The Knights shot 48.3 percent from the field and 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) from downtown, while the Highlanders finished at 44.8 percent overall and 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from behind the arc. The home team used a 40-29 advantage on the glass -- including 14 offensive rebounds -- to earn 15 second-chance points and doubled up the Knights at the free throw line where they converted 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) compared to the Knights' 7-of-12 (58.3 percent).
 
Herenda's postgame quotes - "That was a really tough one to swallow but I really like the way we played tonight. We did the things that we were supposed to do but we just didn't do them well enough to win the game. Give NJIT credit late – they made two huge threes but the game was in our hands and we are still learning how to finish games on the road. "Believe it or not, I really like the way we played but we just didn't finish enough plays or make enough shots. If we defend and rebound a little better and make some more shots, this team is going to win a lot of games.
 
Rookie of the Week: Freshman point guard Jahlil Jenkins took home Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week honors for the first time in his young career this week after posting 10 points and seven assists in the Knights' last-minute loss at NJIT. Jenkins, who is second in the NEC among freshman in assists at 4.1 per game, came up with two key steals in the team's game against the Highlanders and leads the team with 17 thefts on the campaign.
 
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 1,439 points and second in steals with 184.
 
St. John's Connection: Anderson will reunite with fellow St. John's College High School alumni Anthony Cowan Jr. and Reese Mona on Saturday. The Washington, D.C. school boasts nine current NCAA Division I basketball players. 
 
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: Greg 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 open up Northeast Conference action on Friday, December 29 with a road matchup at LIU Brooklyn.