BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Fresh off of their victory over Central Connecticut State, the Knights head on the road to take on LIU Brooklyn on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
 
The Knights (11-13, 9-4 NEC) sit alone in second place in the NEC standings with five games to go and clinched a postseason berth with their win over CCSU on Thursday.
 
Saturday marks the second meeting between FDU and LIU (15-11, 8-5 NEC) this season as the Knights came away with an 83-66 victory in Hackensack back on January 21.
 
Notes:
FDU – LIU

Additional Content:
FDU Men's Basketball Report 2/8
NEC Weekly Release 
NEC on the Run 2/9

Game Information:
Fairleigh Dickinson University (11-13, 9-4 NEC) at LIU Brooklyn (15-11, 8-5 NEC)
Where: Steinberg Wellness Center – Brooklyn, N.Y.
When: Saturday, February 11 – 4:30 p.m.
Series History: Tonight is the 102^nd meeting on the hardwood between the Knights and Blackbirds. FDU leads the all-time series 52-49
First Meeting:  Jan. 22, 1951  (LIU W, 97-48)
Last Meeting: Jan. 21, 2017 – (FDU W, 83-66) Led by junior guard Darian Anderson's 25 points and a strong team defensive effort the Knights claimed the first meeting this season over the Blackbirds. Anderson led the Knights with 25 points on an efficient 6-for-9 (66.7%) shooting performance from the field and a 11-for-12 (91.7%) effort from the free throw line. The junior guard filled up the box score with a team-high nine rebounds to go along with five assists and three steals. The Knights shot 54 percent (27-of-50) overall and connected on eight of 23 from downtown, while LIU shot 33.3 percent (16-for-48) overall in the loss. Holloway contributed to the Knights stellar shooting performance with an impressive 6-for-7 (85.7%) performance.
 
Watch: NEC Front Row
Stats: Live Stats

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LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds:
Like the Knights, the Blackbirds snapped a three-game skid with a win on Thursday. The Blackbirds earned an 88-85 overtime road victory at Bryant on Thursday night.  

Four of the Blackbirds' five starters scored 84 of the team's 88 points in the win. Senior Jerome Frink led all scorers with 30 points and 10 rebounds, tying his career-high in points en route to his Northeast Conference-leading 12^th double-double.  

Senior Iverson Fleming had 24 points in the game, including a long three with 12 seconds remaining in the overtime period that would prove to be the game-winning shot. Freshman Jashaun Agosto added 20 points, while junior Nura Zanna had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
 
LIU enters Saturday's tilt as one of only two NEC teams with a winning overall record at 15-11. The team's two biggest strengths are their rebounding and ability to get to the free throw line as they lead the NEC in both categories.
 
At 9.4 rebounds per contest, Frink not only leads the NEC he also ranks 35^th in the nation. Offensively, Frink is 30^th in the country in made baskets with 30 field goals and averages 17.8 points per game.
 
The Blackbirds visit borough rival St. Francis Brooklyn for their next game on Thursday, February 15.

Head Coach: Jack Perri (Bentley '98)
Record at LIU: 80-79 (.503) – (Fourth Season)

Team Leaders:
Points: Jerome Frink 17.8 ppg
Rebounds: Jerome Frink 9.4 rpg
Assists: Jashaun Agosto 2.6 apg

Last Time Out for the Knights:
Led by Earl Potts Jr.'s season-high 21 points and a solid team three-point shooting effort, FDU rolled to a 79-62 victory over Central Connecticut State on Thursday night.

Although the temperature outside was freezing, the Knights were red hot as they buried 11 3-pointers in the win. The strong shooting and tremendous ball movement by FDU led to a season-high 22 assists.

Potts Jr. spearheaded the three-point barrage with a 4-for-8 performance from downtown en route to his game-high point total. The junior forward also added five rebounds and a season-high four steals to his ledger in the win.

The win snapped a three-game skid for the Knights who completed the season sweep of the Blue Devils (5-19, 3-10 NEC).
 
Overall, FDU shot 52.7 percent (29-of-55) from the floor but just 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from the free throw line.  They also won the turnover battle as they forced 16 CCSU miscues compared to 12 giveaways of their own.
 
Herenda's Take: 
"Getting Earl back to playing at the level he played tonight was very important for our team and for our future success down the stretch. We need to continue to guard, rebound, and play offense like we did tonight."
 
"Tonight showed just how much depth and talent we have on our roster and I am just so proud of how well our team played together tonight. To have 22 assists on 29 field goals is a very impressive number."
 
"Central came in here playing very good basketball and we knew that we had to be ready for that challenge and we were."

"We played very hard, pushed the ball up the floor and shared the ball beautifully. We really needed a win tonight and that is exactly how our players performed."

News and Notes: 
Clinched: With their win on Thursday against CCSU, the Knights officially punched their NEC Tournament ticket. The team is heading back to the conference tournament for the second season in a row. Prior to this season, the team had not made consecutive NEC postseason apperances since 2005-07.
 
Anderson Against LIU: The Knights have won the last three meetings against LIU and Darian Anderson has led the team in scoring in all three. Anderson is averaging 26 points per game over that stretch including a 32-point effort in the first meeting last season.
 
Dish it Out: The key to the Knights' victory on Thursday against CCSU was ball movement. The team dished out a season-best 22 assists on their 29 field goals. That assist output is the most in the game by FDU since they totaled 24 back in the 2014 season opener against Division III FDU-Florham. Stephan Jiggetts led the effort with nine dimes in the win.
 
Earl's Back: Junior forward Earl Potts Jr. has been in and out of the lineup this season with injuries but the preseason All-NEC selection broke out with a vintage performance on Thursday. Potts netted a season-high 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting. The sharpshooter also buried four 3-pointers in the win.
 
Darting Darian: Anderson now has 157 career steals, which is 3rd most in FDU history. Anderson has come up with at least one steal in the last 15 games and has a theft in 21 of the team's 24 games this season. His 1.87 steals per game is also tops in the NEC.
 
Stealing Wins: The Knights are 8-1 when they nab eight or more steals this season. Last game, they came up with a season-high 12 against CCSU.
 
Another Key Number: The Knights are also 7-1 when they hold their opponent to under 35 rebounds in the game. 
 
Charitable Donations: All season long the Knights have thrived at the free throw line. The team has posted a 75.6 percent clip overall, including a 78.8 percent effort in NEC play. Both figures are tops in the conference while the 75.6 percent overall number is 29^th best in the nation. Darnell Edge's 90.5 percent effort leads the team as the sophomore guard has only missed four times (38-of-42) at the charity stripe this season.
 
Efficient Edge: Edge is excelling at the line (90.5%) and from the field (49.6%) this season. But what truly jumps out is his accuracy on two-point shots. From inside the arc this season, Edge is shooting 61.6 percent, which puts the 6'1" guard in the nation's top 100 in that category.
 
Be My Guest: Tune in every Sunday to "The Greg Herenda Show" on WFDU and iHeartRadio. All broadcasts can be found at fduknights.com/herendashow. This week's guest is actor Steve Schirripa.
 
Next up:
The Knights return to the road with a trip to Fairfield, Conn. to take on Sacred Heart University on Thursday, February 16 at 7 p.m.