Game 12
Fairleigh Dickinson (3-8) at LIU Brooklyn (5-8)
Date: Friday, December 29, 2017
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Location: Steinberg Wellness Center – Brooklyn, N.Y.
Coverage: NEC Front Row
Live Stats

After completing the 16^th toughest non-conference schedule in the nation (according to KenPom.com) with a 3-8 mark, the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team begins Northeast Conference action on Friday afternoon against the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds.
 
The Series... FDU leads 52-50
FDU at LIU…25-26
Streak...L1
Last Meeting... LIU Brooklyn 75, FDU 69 (2/11/16 at LIU)
 
Scouting LIU Brooklyn: The Blackbirds concluded their non-conference season at 5-8 with notable wins over Stony Brook and Binghamton. Two of the team's five victories came against Hartford and one against Division III New Rochelle. Last time out, LIU  earned a 74-66 road win at Binghamton. The team has taken 292 free throws this season which is tops in the NEC and 64th best output in the NCAA. At the forefront of that effort is junior swingman Raiquan Clark, who averages 18.8 points on 57.3 percent shooting and 6.5 rebounds per game. Clark forms a formidable one-two punch with senior Joel Hernandez, who leads the Blackbirds and ranks second in the NEC with 19.4 points per game.
 
Knights of Late: The Knights wrapped up non-conference play last time out with a 75-50 loss at Maryland. The team is set to play its final two games of a seven-game road trip, which began on November 29 at Saint Peter's. Over the course of the trip, the team has faced a daunting schedule of big-conference foes and despite holding leads in several games, has been unable to come out victorious resulting in five-game skid. The Knights' defense has been a nuisance to opposing teams this season, turning the opposition over 17.1 times per game, which is the 27th best rate in the nation. Led by the quickness of freshman guard Jahlil Jenkins, who earned NEC Rookie of the Week honors earlier this month and has 20 steals on the season, the Knights average 9.1 steals per game, which ranks 17th in the country. The Knights conclude this long stretch away from home at Sacred Heart on Sunday before returning to the Rothman Center on December 4 against CCSU.
 
Knights Last Time Out:
The Knights dropped their final non-conference game of the season 75-50 to Maryland at the XFINITY Center last Thursday night. In his return to his home area, Washington, D.C. native Darian Anderson led all scorers with 17 points. Anderson also added five rebounds, four steals and three assists to his ledger in the loss. The Terrapins featured a balanced attack with six players in double figures led by Darryl Morsell and Anthony Cowan Jr., who scored 13 apiece. Sophomore guard Kevin Huerter was the catalyst for the home Terps as he double-doubled with 12 points and 15 rebounds to go along with a game-high eight assists. The Knights were edged by two points in the second half but a 23-point halftime deficit, proved to be insurmountable. The key stretch was a 24-0 Maryland run that began with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half and concluded with under two minutes remaining.
 
Despite turning the Terrapins over 17 times and possessing a healthy 17-6 advantage in second-chance points, the Knights' off-shooting night proved to be too difficult to overcome. The team saw shots rim out throughout the night as they posted their lowest field goal percentage of the season at 23.9 percent (16-of-67). The 17 second-chance points for FDU came courtesy of a season-high 18 offensive rebounds, which accounted for half of the team's rebound total (36).
 
Conversely, the Terrapins followed a blistering 70.1 percent first-half performance with a 30.8 percent clip in the second half. After knocking down 75 percent from behind the arc in the opening stanza, the home team connected on just 1-of-11 (9.1 percent) from behind the arc in the final 20 minute
 
Herenda's postgame quotes –  "Tonight, we just got stuck on 19 points forever and that is when Maryland really distanced themselves from us. Cowan and Huerter were a handful all night long and we simply could not make a shot all night long."
 
"I really am proud of how we battled in the second half and held them to 31 percent from the floor and eight percent from three. It seemed as if there literally was a lid on our basket all night long but we continued to play hard for every second. Now, we take a deep breath -- enjoy the holidays and get into conference play. We will be ready."
 
NEC Openers: Head Coach Greg Herenda is a perfect 4-0 in Northeast Conference openers. As a team, the Knights have won five straight NEC opening games. 
 
FDU vs. LIU '16-17: The teams split their two meetings last season with each team defending its home floor. In the Knights' 83-66 win over LIU on January 21, senior guard Darian Anderson scored 25 points with nine rebounds, five assists and three steals. Anderson knocked down a career-high 11 free throws on 12 attempts in the win. In the rematch in Brooklyn, Anderson was forced to miss the first game of his career due to injury. The Knights' senior guard had started all 86 games of his career to that point. 
 
Record Book Update: Anderson continues his ascent up the FDU men's basketball record books and currently sits 21 points away from sole possession of ninth overall on the team's all-time scoring list. In addition to his 1,456 points, he has 512 made field goals (8th), 152 three-pointers (6th), 188 steals (2nd), and 332 assists (9th). Anderson already ranks second in steals and top 10 in field goals and three-pointers made. He was picked as Mid-Major Madness' NEC Preseason Player of the Year and named All-NEC Preseason Team.
 
Crash the Boards: In last Thursday's loss at Maryland, the Knights grabbed 18 offensive rebounds (36 total). The offensive rebound output is the most the team has totaled in a game since they grabbed 19 in a February 14, 2016 overtime win against Wagner. It's also the first time since 12/18/15 that the Knights have totaled the same number of offensive and defensive rebounds in a game.
 
Rookie of the Week: Freshman point guard Jahlil Jenkins took home Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week honors on December 18 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
 
Up Next: The Knights head to Fairfield, Connecticut on Sunday to take on Sacred Heart. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. at the William H. Pitt Center.