HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team faces Queens College (N.Y.) in its 2018-19 home opener Wednesday night at the Rothman Center.

Game 2
Fairleigh Dickinson (0-1, 0-0 NEC)
vs. Queens College (0-2, 0-0 ECC)
Date: Wednesday, November 14
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Rothman Center (Hackensack, N.J.)
Coverage: NEC Front Row (Sitesh Shah and Darryl Jacobs) 
Live Stats

All-Time Series: This is the first meeting between the two teams

The Coaches

• Head Coach Greg Herenda is 5-0 in home openers at Fairleigh Dickinson. Last season, the Knights enjoyed their third consecutive .500 or better season in NEC play as Herenda led the team to a 9-9 conference mark. Under Herenda, the Knights have qualified for the NEC Tournament in four of his five seasons.
• Queens native Matt Collier enters his third season as the Queens College Head Men's Basketball Coach in 2018-19. He was hired as the 14th head coach of the Knights' men basketball program in June of 2016. Collier posted a 9-16 overall record in his second season in 2017-2018. The Knights caught fire at the end of the year, winning four of their final six games. A coach with extensive experience at the Division I level, Collier previously spent six seasons as a member of the coaching staff at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

 
The Teams

• FDU was picked second in the NEC Preseason Poll for the second year in a row. The team welcomes back four of its five starters from last season and eight players total.  The Burgundy & Blue earned a No. 6 seed in last season's NEC Tournament and knocked off No. 3 Saint Francis U before a one-point loss to eventual champion LIU Brooklyn in the NEC Semifinals. They opened the 2018-19 season last Friday in Piscataway and suffered a 90-55 setback to Rutgers.
• Queens is seeking its first win of the season following an 88-59 loss to Adelphi and a 72-51 defeat at Pace last weekend at the ECC/NE-10 Conference Challenge. They were picked to finish seventh in the ECC this season.
   

Opening Tip

• The Knights are set to host a pair of NCAA Division II opponents from the East Coast Conference this week
• Making his debut for the Knights last Friday at Rutgers, Xzavier Malone-Key scored 10 points with six rebounds. Joining Malone-Key in making their FDU debut were Bassel Saliba Jr., Brandon Powell and Oscar Okeke.
• In the loss at Rutgers, the Knights came up with 10 steals. Last season, they logged double-digit steals in five games.
• The NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll selected the Burgundy & Blue to finish second this season with one first-place vote.
• Mike Holloway Jr. was named Preseason All-NEC at this year's NEC Media Day.

Knights Last Time Out
FDU dropped its season opener 90-55 to Rutgers at the Rutgers Athletic Center on Friday night. Senior guard Darnell Edge paced the Knights (0-1) in the loss with 17 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals, while second-year guard Xzavier Malone-Key scored 10 points with six boards in his FDU debut.
 
Six Scarlet Knights (2-0) scored in double figures led by Peter Kiss, who tallied 17 on 7-of-9 shooting to go along with four assists. Freshman wing Ron Harper Jr. scored 15 points in 16 minutes of action and converted 7-of-8 from the field in the win.
 
Rutgers used its size and length to block 12 shots and limit the Knights to a 36.5 percent field goal clip including 4-of-16 (25 percent) from behind the arc. In addition, the home team converted 12-of-20 from three-point range in the victory.

Herenda's Thoughts
"It truly was a tale of two halves. I loved how we came out and ran offense, guarded and competed. Xzavier and Darnell got us off to a great start but we could not sustain it for 40 minutes. Rutgers came out in the second half and made things very difficult for us. They guarded incredibly well and turned our turnovers into quick scores. We will learn from tonight and move on. These games are difficult to swallow at the moment but in the long run these experiences in high-level arenas only help us grow."

Next Up
The Knights welcome another East Coast Conference opponent to the Rothman Center when NYIT comes to town this Friday, November 16 at 7:00 p.m.