HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team fell to Wagner College 68-59 at Stratis Arena on Saturday afternoon.
 
It is the third straight loss for the Knights (10-13, 8-4 NEC), while the Seahawks (11-11, 7-5 NEC) have now won three in a row.
 
Stephan Jiggetts led the Knights with 13 points, seven rebounds, and two assists, while Earl Potts Jr. narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
 
The Knights only made 19 baskets in the loss, which is their second lowest output of the season. Their 19 field goals came on 60 attempts (31.7%) and they knocked down 5-of-18 (27.8%) from behind the arc. The 31.7 percent performance matched their season-low, which came back on December 17 against Cincinnati.
 
Despite the struggles from the field, the team converted 16-of-18 (88.9%) from the free throw line.
 
Corey Henson and Michael Carey led four Seahawks in double figures with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Henson hit all eight of his free throw attempts as the Seahawks took 33 shots from the line and connected on 24 of them.
 
Wagner, who entered the game ranked ninth in the country in rebounding margin at +8.5, saw the Knights match them on the glass, 37-37.

"Give credit to Wagner. They were just very consistent the entire game and simply, we were not," said head coach Greg Herenda following the loss. "We are just missing shots that we normally make. It is frustrating, but every team in America goes through it. We just need to keep fighting and we will be fine."
 
A 5-for-8 start by Wagner allowed them to jump out to an 11-4 lead as the Knights made just two of their first 11 from the field.
 
The Knights fought back with five points by Ghassan Nehme and trailed 14-12 with 7:34 to play in the opening half.
 
Darian Anderson gave FDU their first lead of the game with a nifty layup as they briefly went ahead 17-16 before the Seahawks regained the advantage and led 21-17 at the under-four timeout.

Anderson tallied 10 points in the loss and nabbed three steals, which moved him into third place all-time in school history with 154. The junior guard has now tallied a steal in 14 straight outings.
 
Both teams struggled to make shots in the half as the game went into the break knotted at 23-23. The teams combined to shoot 2-for-15 from behind the arc as Wagner went 1-of-7 and FDU hit 1-of-8 from 3-point land. FDU connected on just 9-of-28 (32.1%) and Wagner made 9-of-23 (39.1%) in the half.
 
Three Knights netted four points to top the team in the stanza, with Jiggetts adding four rebounds and two assists to his ledger. Henson was Wagner's top scorer with a game-high seven points through the first 20 minutes.
 
Wagner entered the game as the ninth-best rebounding team in the nation but FDU held their own in the first half and matched the Seahawks' 12 rebounds.
 
After the cold start from behind the arc, the Knights heated up as Darnell Edge and Potts Jr. connected on back-to-back treys to give FDU a 29-23 lead out of the break.
 
Wagner erased a pair of six-point deficits and after a 9-0 run, led 46-42 with under 10 to play. After four straight by the Knights, the Seahawks rattled off eight straight and built their lead to 54-46 with seven minutes to go.
 
With the shot clock winding down, a long 3-pointer by Henson stretched Wagner's lead to nine for the first time, 59-50.
 
Wagner maintained their cushion as the Knights were unable to take advantage of several chances to close the gap. The Seahawks shot 44 percent in the second stanza and received a boost from JoJo Cooper who filled up the statsheet with 13 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Herenda added, "We lost three straight last year -- and quite honestly -- that catapulted us to win a championship. We need to regroup, get some rest, and bounce back. I am very confident that we will do just that."
 
The Knights will look to get back on track when they close their three-game homestand next Thursday, February 9 when they host Central Connecticut State. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN3.