LORETTO, Pa. – With one game left to play in the Northeast Conference regular season, the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team is set for a crucial matchup at Saint Francis U on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Knights (11-17, 9-8 NEC) are one-game behind the Red Flash (13-15, 10-7 NEC) in the conference standings but can secure a home playoff game and the No. 4 seed with a victory. If the Knights are able to earn the win on Saturday, they would play host to the Red Flash this Wednesday, March 1 at Stratis Arena in the NEC Tournament Quarterfinals.
 
Saturday's matchup bookends the NEC season for both these squads. The Knights hosted the Red Flash in their NEC season opener back on December 29 and came away with a 77-65 victory. The Knights have won four straight in the series.
 
Notes:
FDU – SFU

Additional Content:
FDU Men's Basketball Report 2/23
NEC Weekly Release 
NEC on the Run

Game Information:
Fairleigh Dickinson (11-17, 9-8 NEC) at Saint Francis U (13-15, 10-7 NEC)
Where: DeGol Arena– Loretto, Pa.
When: Saturday, February 25 – 1:00 p.m.
Series History: Today is the 88th meeting on the hardwood between the Knights and Red Flash. FDU leads the all-time series 45-42
First Meeting:  Jan. 12, 1955 (SFU W, 61-52)
Last Meeting: Dec. 29, 2016 – (FDU W, 77-65) The defending Northeast Conference champion Knights opened conference play with the win. The Knights exhibited a spirited defensive effort, forcing 16 turnovers and limiting the conference's top scoring team to just 65 points.  Junior swingman Earl Potts Jr. was at the forefront with three steals to go along with seven points and a game-high nine rebounds. Darian Anderson, who was honored prior to the game for eclipsing the 1,000-career point mark, led all scorers with 18 points. Sophomore forward Mike Holloway was an efficient 8-of-10 from the field and scored 16 points in his 28 minutes of action.

Watch: NEC Front Row
Stats:  Live Stats

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Saint Francis University Red Flash:
Entering the final regular season game of conference play, Saint Francis owns the NEC's top offense through 28 games, leading the league in scoring (75.6 ppg), field goal percentage (46.2), three pointers made per game (7.9) and three-point percentage (38.4). The Red Flash offense features a balanced attack with Keith Braxton (13.3), Isaiah Blackmon (12.7), Jamaal King (12.3) and Josh Nebo (12.3) all averaging double-digits in scoring.
 
Braxton has made waves in the NEC by earning seven NEC Rookie of the Week awards this season, which is fifth most in the conference's history.
 
On Thursday, Braxton recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds as the Red Flash topped Sacred Heart 73-64. The Red Flash shot 44 percent for the game, making 26-of-59 from the field.  SFU hit 10-of-25 (40%) from three in the win.
 
Saint Francis U Men's Basketball page

Head Coach: Rob Krimmel (Saint Francis U '00)
Record at Saint Francis U: 57-93 (.380) – (Fifth Season)

Team Leaders:
Points: Keith Braxton 13.3 ppg
Rebounds: Keith Braxton 8.8 rpg
Assists: Jamaal King 3.3 apg

Last Time Out for the Knights:
The Knights fought valiantly to overcome a 15-point second-half deficit but ultimately came fractions of a second short as they were edged 77-76 by Robert Morris at the Charles Sewall Center on Thursday night.
 
After an 11-0 run in the final four minutes erased the deficit, the Knights found themselves trailing by one with five seconds to go. Junior guard Stephan Jiggetts drove from end-to-end and dumped off a pass to sophomore center Malik Miller, who made what appeared to be the game-winning layup as the final horn sounded. However, after reviewing the play, the officials deemed that the ball was still in Miller's hand and announced the final decision.
 
In the loss, the Knights shot 54.2 percent from the floor but were unable to overcome 20 turnovers. The Colonials (12-18, 8-9 NEC) also shot well with a 50 percent clip and took advantage of the Knights' miscues, converting them into 21 points at the offensive end.
 
Jiggetts and fellow junior guard Darian Anderson led all scorers with 17 points apiece, while sophomore guard Darnell Edge netted 15 and Earl Potts Jr. scored 12.
 
The Colonials were led by Isaiah Still's 15 points and Aaron Tate's 14-point, eight-rebound effort. 

Herenda's Take: 
"The shame of it all is that we didn't play with that urgency throughout the game. Robert Morris played harder and tougher than we did and that is how you win college basketball games at every level."
 
"This is not the time to feel sorry for ourselves. We have been at the top of this league and now we cannot win a game. Once we win one -- watch out -- but until then we have to play much harder and better in all facets of the game."

News and Notes: 

Where We Stand: The winner today's game will earn the opportunity to host an NEC Tournament game. If FDU prevails they will host Saint Francis in a rematch on Wednesday in the conference quarterfinals, while the Red Flash can possibly earn as high as a No. 3 seed with a victory.
 
Four in a Row: The Knights have won four straight games against Saint Francis dating back to last season's 3-0 mark. Over that span,  
 
Balanced Scoring: The Knights have featured five scorers in double figures in two of the last three outings. Unfortunately, the balanced attack has not resulted in a victory as the team is 0-3 over that stretch. For the season, Anderson, Jiggetts, Potts and Holloway are all averaging 10+ points per game.
 
He's Got an Edge: Edge is excelling at both the line (89.8%) and from the field (52.7%) this season. The sophomore guard has also scored in double figures in five of the team's last six games. Edge is averaging 10.6 points per game in conference action on 58.6% shooting. His shooting percentage is fifth best in the NEC, while his 3-point FG percentage is 2nd.
 
Charitable Donations: All season long the Knights have thrived at the free throw line. The team has posted a 76.5 percent clip overall, including a 79.0 percent effort in NEC play. Both figures are tops in the conference while the 76.5 percent overall number is 19th best in the nation. Darnell Edge's 89.8 percent effort leads the team as the sophomore guard has only missed five times (44-of-49) at the charity stripe.
 
Double Up: Last week sophomore forward Mike Holloway was named an NEC Prime Performer after averaging a double-double over the two-game stretch. Holloway averaged 16.5 ppg and 10 rpg on 57.9% shooting. 
 
Ten Wins: With a win on Saturday, the Knights will net their 10th NEC win of the season making it back-to-back seasons over 10 conference victories. It would be the first time since 2005-06.
 
Active Leader: With 1,289 career points, junior guard Darian Anderson is the NEC's active scoring leader.

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 former NBA player and current Princeton basketball assistant coach Kerry Kittles.
 
Next up:
The Knights will compete in the quarterfinals of the NEC Tournament on Wednesday, March 1 with time, opponent and location to be determined.